Paladin's Quest: Rebirth of Kaiser
by Higuchimon
Summary: It's happened at last. His life couldn't go on forever. But an ending in one world brings a new beginning in another. And just because Ryou has changed doesn't erase the events of the past, or people furious at those events.
1. Chapter 1

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Juudai, Shou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 1/30|| **Words:** 2,085  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** This begins roughly seven years post-canon. It does involve character death but reincarnation/rebirth as well.  
 **Summary:** It's happened at last. His life couldn't go on forever. But an ending in one world brings a new beginning in another. And just because Ryou has changed doesn't erase the events of the past, or people furious at those events.

* * *

Shou sat, hands in his lap, staring at the door. He tried not to, but he did anyway. He'd sat in rooms like this before, worried like this before, but never to this degree. Never with the true, deep down fear that his brother wouldn't come out of this. That something would happen that _shouldn't_.

He closed his eyes, trying to think about something else. He wasn't particular on what. He just wanted to think about anything that wasn't the doctors on the other side of the door doing their best to save his brother's life.

A hand brushed against his shoulder and he looked up to see a face he hadn't seen in well over six months. Without a bit of hesitation, he threw himself into Juudai's arms, shaking all over.

It was Juudai. He could do that with him.

"Aniki! Aniki!" Further words just stuck in his throat. He trembled and sat back down, Juudai beside him now. He wanted to believe everything would be all right now. Aniki was here and…

He still couldn't make everything come out all right. He wasn't _that_ good. He wasn't flawless. He could make mistakes.

Shou had to remind himself of that. It wasn't easy. He'd spent long enough believing that Juudai really could do anything that he wanted to, and he'd had a hard enough time realizing that wasn't true.

But that didn't change the fact that Juudai being there eased a lot of the tension he'd been living with since he'd arrived here.

"So what happened?" Juudai asked, voice quiet and soft. Shou swallowed a little. He hadn't actually told anyone since this started. There hadn't been anyone around to tell, and he'd been too worried to put his fingers to keys and send an e-mail.

Which did make him wonder just how Juudai found out he was there in the first place. But here he was, and that was all that mattered for the moment.

He focused. "Everything was fine. He took his medicine every day. He didn't push himself too much, even with our Pro League." He couldn't help but be proud of how far their League had come in the seven years since graduation. "Then...he just said that he hurt a lot. That he didn't feel good."

Shou swallowed, heart pounding as he remembered seeing how pale Ryou looked when he spoke. "I wasn't sure what to do. So I brought him here. He … he passed out almost as soon as we got here."

Shou's hands pressed even tighter together. "They've had him in there for a long time now. I'm not even sure what's really wrong." It had probably been his heart. His brother had been doing so _well_ but things _happened_ and there wasn't anything else he could think of.

He swallowed. He didn't want to look at the time. He didn't want to know how long it had been. No matter how long it had been, it couldn't be good at all. If he didn't know, then it would be… all right, wouldn't it? Sure. That was it.

Sometimes nurses came out from there, and once a doctor. She hadn't talked to him, though, and he wasn't sure if she even had anything to do with his brother. But seeing them worried him even when they said nothing at all.

He heard noises from the other side, but never anything that he could make sense out of. The words he could understand, but what they _meant_ was all in medical jargon. None of it said what he wanted it to say: that his brother was fine and would recover soon.

Shou glanced up once to see Juudai working on something, fingers dancing over keys. It took another moment to grasp it: he was sending out messages. Letting people know what was going on.

Oh. Better than he could do right now. He tucked his head back down, too scared to sleep, too scared to stay awake. He sort of wanted to yawn, but if he did, he'd fall asleep. He was almost sure of it.

"Kenzan and Manjoume-kun are on the way," Juudai said. "Asuka, too. I haven't heard back from anyone else yet."

Shou nodded. He couldn't decide what else to do. Words just didn't want to come right now.

A ringing sound. Shou looked up, mostly out of habit. That usually meant that someone was coming out of there.

A doctor emerged. She looked every bit as exhausted as he felt. She looked around the room, attention falling on him.

"Marufuji Shou? Here for your brother?"

Shou's heart clenched. He nodded. This would be it. This would clear up everything.

"I'm terribly sorry. We did everything that we could." Her voice was quiet and weary, head bent. "You have my deepest sympathies."

Shou's heart froze altogether. No. No. He couldn't have heard that. It couldn't be what he thought she said. After all this time, all that they'd done together, all that they'd fought for together, how could that have happened?

He jerked his head around to where Juudai sat, hardly noticing the hot tears streaking down his cheeks. "Aniki..." He knew what he wanted to ask. What he wanted to demand. But it couldn't be. He could not forget that Juudai might be powerful, but he wasn't a _god_.

Juudai rose up. "Can we… see him?"

The doctor's lips turned down a bit. "It's not usual, but… I think it might be all right. Just this once."

Under other circumstances, Shou might have wondered if Juudai did something to influence her. Right now, he didn't actually care. He stumbled along in her wake, guided through quiet empty corridors. It was very late at night and only the occasional doctor or nurse turned up.

Shou could barely think as they entered a room. There, a white sheet pulled up over him, was…

Shou didn't even think at all. "Nii-san..."

* * *

Juudai stared at what he saw, at what – who had been the Kaiser. He let Shou go first, turning his own thoughts inward. He'd never considered doing anything like this before. One thing he'd learned very fast was that there were certain lines that he couldn't cross.

But this was Shou and this was the Kaiser and if he couldn't do something for the people that he cared about, then what _could_ he do?

 _Yubel._

 **We can't bring him back. The ties to his body are already severed.**

He'd expected that. But there had to be something else that he could do.

 _Does he have a ghost? Like Daitokuji-sensei?_ That was the only thing he could think of right now. His old teacher still hadn't moved on, but he'd stopped by Duel Academia to leave Pharaoh with Principal Samejima before coming here. He was pretty sure hospitals didn't want cats around.

Yubel didn't answer at once. He had the sensation that they were searching, even if he couldn't see them.

 **Yes. Most people do, before they leave. But I can't say how long he will remain.**

Juudai nodded. _If I looked with your eyes, could I see him?_

 **Yes. But hurry.**

Juudai concentrated, feeling Yubel's energy move through him. They were together at all times, but only when they both put in this effort could he see things the way that Yubel did.

Ryou wasn't the only spirit there. Cyber End Dragon hovered behind Shou, dividing its attention between the Marufujis. Ryou stared up at it, awe written over his features, before he turned toward Juudai, face assuming his usual calm expression.

"Juudai." He said nothing more, a greeting and a farewell in one.

Juudai inched forward. "Do you really want to go that much?"

Ryou tilted his head. "I don't think I'm being given an option." His gaze flicked back toward Shou. "But I don't think I would if I could stay."

Juudai held back a bit of a grin. He'd hoped for something like that, even if he didn't know how to do it.

"There might be a way. I mean, I don't know for sure, but…"

Yubel stood next to him without warning. "There is a path that isn't mortal rebirth or the afterlife. It isn't one that everyone walks and some are called to it without warning. Have you noticed that there are some Duel Spirits who bear too much of a resemblance to humans?"

Both Ryou and Juudai nodded. Yubel folded their arms over their chest as they spoke.

"It isn't unknown for a human to be reborn as a Duel Spirit. Or a Duel Spirit to be reborn as a human. That is a path available: with the help of the Gentle Darkness."

Juudai jerked his head up. "You're serious?" He'd sort of had an idea that he could do something, but he'd more or less thought of it as being healing or something. Not like this.

"When am I not, Juudai?" Yubel asked, a small smile on their lips. Then they turned back to Ryou. "It is a path taken by those with the strongest of wills only. And like those who experience mortal rebirth, you will not remember your first life." Yubel considered for a few seconds. "Though I cannot say that the memories won't _ever_ return. It is possible. But it would require much effort and isn't always something to strive for. There are times when it's better to forget the past and move onward."

Juudai couldn't help a snort there. "Really?" To hear Yubel of all beings saying that…

"There are circumstnaces where that isn't an option," Yubel said, eyes glittering for a few seconds. "But I spoke of humans, not us."

Juudai waved one hand before he looked back to the Kaiser. "I guess that's an option, then. Is that what you'd like?"

Ryou considered in silence, his gaze going between Juudai, Yubel, Shou, and Cyber End Dragon. He raised one hand to rest on one of Cyber End's muzzles.

"I would be a card spirit?"

"Yes. Only those who have the gift to see them would see you in this world. You might not even be created as a card here for a great deal of time to come." Yubel answered. "But you could also live in one of the spirit worlds. Anyone living there could see you." Yubel raised a hand, cutting off whatever questions were next. "We don't know what kind of a card you would be, either."

"We could get President Pegasus to make a card, eventually. Or Hayato, Hayato could do it!" Juudai declared, trying and not perfectly succeeding in keeping his voice down. Shou didn't seem to notice, though. His heart and mind were too busy mourning.

"Make your choice, Hell Kaiser Marufuji Ryou," Yubel said, "because the time you have to make it runs very thin indeed."

Ryou did not move his hand from Cyber End's muzzle. He breathed, if a ghost could be said to breathe at all, for a moment.

"I'll do it," he said. Juudai thought he'd made the decision at the best time. He looked a little transparent, even for a ghost.

Yubel extended one hand and in it was a card, blank of title and without image. "Then touch this. We'll carry you there and you'll wake up… eventually."

"Eventually?"

"It takes time to adjust to a change like this. It could take a very long time." Yubel pointed out. Ryou nodded before he reached his other hand out and rested it on the card.

There wasn't a flash or anything. One moment he stood there, then he wasn't. There wasn't anything to see on the card even then, but Juudai could feel his presence in the card. Yubel handed it to him.

"What world do you want to take him to?" They asked. Juudai knew without even having to think about it: the world that he had troubled so much when he'd hurt with all of his heart.

The world where Hell Kaiser was still hailed as the hero who'd defeated Haou and brought his evil down. In all the years since, no one had ever told the people there otherwise. It would be a good place for Ryou to start a new life.

He would have to bring Shou there, eventually. When he wasn't in such pain from the passing of his brother. Not that he'd tell Shou that Ryou wasn't technically gone…

Shou, or anyone else. They could all find out later, when Ryou remembered them.

If Ryou remembered them.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** This one will be updated once a week for as long as I can. I hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 2/30|| **Words:** 4,202  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

He opened his eyes to the same view that he'd had for the last few years: a simple wooden roof. After the night of dreams he'd had, it didn't seem right somehow.

 _It should be white. With blue trim._

He closed his eyes again, focusing on the here and now, not on the snippets of dreams that refused to stay in his memory long enough for him to understand them. When he opened his eyes again, he recognized the roof as his own, and the familiar sense of _home_ folded in around him.

Slowly he sat up and looked around. Everything remained in the usual place: his favorite jacket on the chair next to the bed, along with his boots. He'd washed his other clothes the day before and they hung outside, drying.

There really wasn't much to where he lived. One single room, with different parts divided for what he needed. A bed over here, a place to keep his clean clothes – what few he had of those – and a little space with a second chair, for those irregular times he entertained visitors.

Sunlight peeked in through the window, along with a faint gust of wind. He breathed in carefully, not surprised to catch the scent of snow. Winter wasn't that far away. He would have to take out the extra blankets soon.

Often after he had those nights full of dreams, it was hard to get going in the morning. The dreams sometimes stuck around, if only in the sense that he needed to be somewhere else, that this place was a good and pleasant home, but there was _somewhere else_.

Today wasn't one of those days. Today he dressed and headed out for the dining hall with only the faintest flickers of thought about those dreams, and those faded as soon as he stepped outside into the sun.

"Morning!" One of the local sentries waved as he passed by them. He thought it wasn't legal to be that chipper in the morning. He certainly never was.

But he raised a hand in greeting regardless. No one would be offended. Everyone here, after the last several years, knew what he was like in the mornings.

 _He reminds me of someone..._ He wasn't sure of who. He didn't remember ever having seen someone like that before. There weren't many of his type around. But the hint remained all the same.

Had he ever known a Shine Angel before? If he had, it remained lost in the deep darkness that was all he had in his memory prior to the first time he'd opened his eyes in this world.

He shrugged that off, as he always did, and made his way into the dining hall for breakfast, silently greeting a few others along the way. He wouldn't call them friends – he didn't think he had friends, but there were people he wasn't averse to spending time around – but these were at least comfortable acquaintances.

The longer he was in the hall, the more gossip he could here. He wasn't often fond of the gossip, but it gave him something to listen to, and it could be useful on occasion.

Such as what he heard now.

"He's coming. It's that time of year anyway." The tiny fairy bobbed in the air, morning bowl of stew held between small hands. Tiny eyes shifted over toward him. "You know that, don't you?"

One eyebrow tilted upward. "I might. If you told me who you're talking about."

The fairy – Pixie Guardian – blew air out, wings fluttering in annoyance. "Weren't you listening?" Before he could give an answer, the pixie kept going. "The Herald is coming! You know, he comes every year about this time?"

Oh. Right. He shouldn't have forgotten that, but the vague unrest sparked by the dreams drove it out of his mind, at least for now. He shrugged.

"I suppose he does."

No one knew a great deal about the Herald, only what rumors and legends painted. He looked young, perhaps just coming into full maturity, but there was a dark sort of wisdom in his eyes. He wandered every world known, and quite likely a few that weren't known, and offered help wherever it was needed.

And every year, as winter drew around, he came to this little collection of huts and homes and spent about a week or so. He'd never said why and no one had the nerve to ask him.

The Herald's face, with wide brown eyes and a worried expression, was the first thing that he remembered in a memory that contained only a handful of years. That voice was the first one he remembered hearing, asking how he felt.

The Herald's Voice was also the one he remembered as giving him his name. Just thinking of that moment sent shivers of confusion all through him.

 _Ryou_.

He could not forget that moment, whatever else he forgot or remembered.

* * *

His eyes opened and he pulled in a breath of air so clean it seemed like it might come from the dawn of the world itself. He jerked himself up, staring in all directions, before he sank back down, hands rising to press against his own skin, as if he'd never felt it before.

If he had, he didn't remember. He didn't remember anything at all save the last few moments.

"Hey."

He turned at the voice, staring at someone that he hadn't realized was there. The stranger – everyone was a stranger to him – sat on a rock, a bag in his lap, with a large furry creature seated next to him. Next to him was another creature, this one quite tall, with a broad set of wings, and three eyes that were each of a different color.

"How do you feel?"

He blinked, trying to understand the question. He knew what had been said; that wasn't the problem. But he wasn't sure of how to answer it at first.

Slowly he worked out a word. His first word? Maybe.

"Fine?"

The stranger smiled. "Do you remember anything?" it was a friendly, warm smile, and it warmed him all through to see it.

He had to think again to know how to answer the question. His entire mind felt so empty, as if someone had shaken every bit of knowledge out of it. He frowned, reaching one hand up to touch his forehead.

There were things that he knew and didn't know. He knew roughly what the parts of his body were called and that day followed night and other such common points. He didn't know who he was or where he'd been or what happened to make himself like this.

"Not really," he admitted. He turned back to the stranger who seemed so very ready to be helpful. "Who are you?" Another question followed in quick succession. "Do you know who I am?"

The other glanced up at the being beside him. The look they exchanged was nothing sort of raw sorrow that faded the moment he turned away.

"Your name is Ryou. I'm Juudai, this is Yubel," he gestured to the creature, who nodded in return, and then he rested a hand on the fluffy beast. A cat, Ryou recalled now. A tabby cat. "This is Pharaoh. Daitokuji-sensei's not around right now, though."

That didn't quite make sense, but Ryou suspected it would have if he had all of his memories. Or if he just had memories at all.

"Do you know why I don't remember anything?"

"You've been reborn," Yubel said, interrupting whatever it was Juudai started to say. "It's a rare gift and I suggest you let any memories return at their own pace. If they do at all."

Ryou nodded slowly. He didn't quite understand what they told him, but he didn't find himself with the energy to argue at this point. His stomach made a noise and he stared down at it.

Juudai laughed, a bit of a strange sound, but a laugh all the same. "Come on. There's a village not that far from here we can get some food at. Are you able to walk?"

Ryou decided the only way that he could find out would be to try. He levered his way to his feet, hissing between his teeth when he couldn't be at all certain that they would carry him at first. Then he steadied himself and took a careful step, hands spread out for balance.

Three steps was all it took before he started to fall again, and Juudai caught him before he got all the way to the ground. Once he was steady again, Ryou made another attempt, this one somewhat more successful.

"You'll get the hang of it," Juudai assured him. "Come on, you'll probably feel better once you have some food in you."

Ryou wasn't going to argue on that point. The longer he went without eating, the more certain he became that he could and would eat almost anything set in front of him.

The village they ended up at – Yubel vanished somewhere along the way – wasn't very big; maybe about twenty or twenty-five huts and about the same number carved into the nearby mountain. The place had been built for defense and was surrounded by a thick stone wall twice as tall as Ryou himself – who realized only then that he was taller than Juudai.

A gate allowed entrance, but only after the guard on duty permitted them to pass through. Ryou was too busy staring at it all, soaking it in, to really pay much attention to what Juudai said or did to get them in.

But on the other side, they quickly found the communal eating area, and Ryou had the first meal that he could remember.

* * *

 _This is a good place for you,_ Juudai told him before he left that first time. _I'll come back and see you when I can._

So Ryou settled into the village life without a great deal of problems. There were empty huts or cottages and he moved into one, taking up the position of guard to earn his food and shelter. There were higher-ranked soldiers there, who dueled, and there was always the chance he could join them one day, if he ever learned how.

And yet he hadn't tried. There was a small store one could barter for cards at and he'd investigated there several times over the last handful of years. Not a single card there interested him enough to try it for himself.

Once he finished his breakfast, Ryou wandered out to the main square. Today was one of his rare days without a shift on the guard watch, so he could do as he pleased.

The whole discussion, short as it was, on if the Herald would be returning soon hovered in the back of his mind. The Herald – Juudai – visited whenever his travels brought him around, and he always made time to talk to Ryou when he did.

Exactly why they called him the Herald, Ryou didn't know. He wasn't sure if they didn't know Juudai's name or if it were some other reasons. Some questions he felt compelled to ask – mostly ones that helped him fit in around the village – and some he didn't – usually anything to do with Juudai.

There were times when he thought he already knew things about Juudai, things that no one here did, but he just didn't have the words to express them. He hadn't mentioned that to Juudai, either, during their few conversations.

Now he made his way out of the village and to a place he enjoyed spending his rare free time in: a long, empty meadow with a single stream whispering its way through it. So far as he knew, he was the only one who ever came here. There was a long rock in the center, just enough for him to get comfortable on, and there he settled down, most of his thoughts centered on what he might ask Juudai when he turned up.

The whole time he lay there, though, he couldn't drift himself into the pleasant half-rest that sometimes brought a few thoughts he wanted to call memories back. Instead, there was a prickle of wariness between his shoulder-blades, and he kept looking around for any sign of anyone in the area.

* * *

After all these years, she'd finally found him. Rumor from the other worlds painted it that he was dead, but she'd never put much stock in rumors that traveled so far.

If this person wasn't him, then they were close enough for her. And now that she'd found him, she would gain the vengeance she'd spent the last decade planning.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I am innocently whistling! (Ryou will get his memories back. But I have Plans for how matters will unfold between now and then.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 3/30|| **Words:** 6,234  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Juudai slung his pack over his shoulder and stared at the path that lay ahead of him. He'd gone this way many times over the last few years, but there was always the same sense of worry, that something would be different this time.

He wasn't always sure if 'different' would be good or not. He knew better than anyone else that different could end up very good indeed. But some changes…

Some he didn't really want to think about a lot. Some brought tears. Some brought nightmares, even after all this time.

 **Juudai.**

Yubel's warning tone got him going, as it usually did. He'd never asked why Yubel wanted to check on Hell Kaiser the way that they did. There was a flicker in their awareness, something that he thought of as _responsibility_ , if that was even the right thing to call it.

Maybe Yubel would tell him one day. If it ever was important enough so that they would.

The closer that they got to the village – which he still hadn't asked the name of, even after five years – the more Juudai could feel another presence around there somewhere. That wasn't very surprising, all things considered. Anywhere he visited regularly, people started to keep an eye on, just to see what he was doing.

No one called him Haou anymore, not in this world. Here he was the Herald, the Herald of the Gentle Darkness. Not much of a name change, but just about everyone who called him that knew the Herald and the Haou were one and the same.

Names were important. Calling someone the wrong name, he'd learned, could be as hurtful as a slap to the face, or the final strike of a duel.

Which was one of the reasons he hadn't talked to Shou about who he went to visit every now and then. Shou needed to know. He'd figured that out _ages_ ago. But until the card could be created, until he knew the new _name_ …

Until he knew a lot more than had actually happened yet, then Juudai had to admit to himself that he didn't know what to tell any of them.

He could feel Yubel's fingers on his head and wasn't surprised a breath later to feel their hand whack against his. The message remained plain: not to stand there grumbling but to get moving on the trip.

So that was what he did. He strolled along the pathway until he could see the wall around the village. It still looked pretty new; built of local rock instead of the wooden palisade the first time he'd seen it, a year or two before he'd brought Ryou here. He didn't recognize the guards out today, which wasn't always that often.

By the time he got to the gate, the local boss in charge stood there: Command Angel. As always, the angel stood at rigid attention, shoulders thrown back, wings at a perfect angle.

"Greetings, Herald!" The words cracked out as if Command Angel expected to be judged on their loudness.

Which wasn't too much of a surprise. There'd been a time when they might have been.

Juudai just grinned and waved. It was good to see at least some people were doing better from those days. Command Angel hadn't been very highly ranked back then, and probably wouldn't have lasted much longer. Being the leader of this village was a lot better for her.

"Nice to see you again," he said, eyes flickering here and there. It was pretty easy to guess that Ryou wasn't around at the moment. Whenever he was when Juudai showed up, he always turned up in the first few minutes.

"We suspected you'd come soon," Command Angel replied, shoulders and wings slowly easing off. "We've had a proper dinner made."

Juudai wrinkled his nose. "You don't have to do that." He wouldn't turn down food, of course, but he would have much preferred if they didn't make it as if it were expected of them.

Before Command Angel could say another word, one of the little fairies – Pixie Guardian – slipped up closer, bobbing in the air at him.

"Herald, sir, _Ryou_ is out over in the clearing. You know the one, don't you sir?" Pixie Guardian let out a tiny giggle. "I made sure he wasn't on the roster for today."

Juudai blinked at that for a heartbeat before he nodded. He knew which clearing the other meant. "Thanks! We'll be back for dinner later."

He headed first over to where he'd drop his bag for a while. He had an item or two in there he knew Ryou would want – at least he hoped Ryou would want it.

 _Still weird to think of him as Ryou anyway._ He'd always been Kaiser or Hell Kaiser, up until he wasn't anymore. But Yubel insisted now. It was the whole 'names' thing: until either his card granted him a new name or he'd recalled his proper strength and title, he was Ryou and no one else.

But after five years, he was at least sort of getting used to it. He didn't know any other Ryous to confuse this one with, after all. Not quite like other Kaisers. Shou didn't use that name to the point his brother did – had – but it was still his just as well.

Juudai dropped the bag off in the cave he usually stayed in while he visited here. Pharaoh poked his head out of it, sniffed, and then curled himself up on top. As long as no one offered him any fish, he would be a good guard cat. And even better…

Daitoukuji-sensei shimmered into visibility on a rock a short distance away. "You should go find him," he suggested. "He has to know, you know."

Juudai blew air out. This was one of the things he didn't especially find himself fond of doing, but it needed to be done, especially in this case.

"I know. Keep an eye on things for me?"

"Of course!"

Juudai waved briefly before he headed out of the village again. It wasn't likely someone would try to steal his things, but if they tried, Daitoukuji-sensei would let him know who dared. It wouldn't even be close to the first time.

No sooner were they out of sight of the village, than Yubel appeared next to him. They didn't say anything, but there wasn't much of a need. He knew what was on their mind as well as they knew what was on theirs.

From the village itself was a relatively short walk – at least for him – to the western horizon, scattered about here with a dozen or so small clumps of trees, bushes, and rocks. Trickles of water made their way through the area as well, just wide enough for him to jump over them. He scrambled for his balance once or twice, before he finally reached the far side, the thickest thicket yet, and when he crossed through that, the trees thinned out and the valley itself opened up before him.

This was a wetter place than the main village area, which was why the village itself had been built where it had been and not here. A much larger stream encircled the valley, with a long slab of rock in the very center of it.

 _He looks so peaceful._ It would take Juudai a long, long time to really match the memories of the person he'd met when he was fifteen to the fierce, unyielding Hell Kaiser who'd brought such pain to other people and the later ones when he'd softened from his experiences and his first taste of death.

It would take even longer to match all of _those_ memories with who he saw there now: a man who still looked older than Juudai himself, but with less than a handful of years in his memories, with the kind of buried strength held deep within, waiting for the right moments to bring it out again.

The brother of his best friend, the warrior still famed even now for having defeated Haou – even if he really hadn't, not the way most people who'd heard the stories that it worked out – the one known once as Hell Kaiser.

Juudai wasn't certain if Ryou heard him or felt him or what. But as he got closer, Ryou sat up and turned toward him.

"Juudai."

His voice hadn't changed at all, not if you knew what to listen for. But there were changes: this wasn't a man who remembered the taste of death. Juudai wouldn't go so far as to think of him as _innocent_ \- he suspected if he even brought up the subject, then Ryou would remember in far more detail than he really needed to how not innocent he really was.

"Ryou." Juudai slipped down onto the rock next to him. "How have you been doing?"

He wasn't all that good at small talk, especially in this situation. But he would try his best, at least for now.

Ryou shrugged, the slightest tipping of his shoulders. "Not much changes here." His gaze brushed against Juudai's. "What about you?"

There were lots of questions that Ryou hadn't ever asked him. Juudai suspected that he would get to doing so sooner or later. You couldn't go on forever without knowing who you are.

Or who you were.

Juudai knew that one right down to the core of his own soul.

He considered before he answered, though, if only for a few moments. He could feel Yubel's pressure against him; they wanted this to be told as soon as possible. He knew Daitoukuji-sensei felt the same way. So did he, really. It was just making the words.

"I've been talking to people," he said at last. "Remember I told you about humans and card spirits?"

Ryou nodded, a hint of curiosity visible now. Juudai hadn't told him everything, only about different worlds and how humans lived in some and spirits lived in others, and this world was one of those where both lived.

Juudai pressed his lips together. "A friend of mine, a human, wants to come and live here." His heart beat a bit faster at this. "I was hoping that you could help him adjust here."

Ryou tilted his head just the tiniest of bits. "Why me?" He didn't sound upset, at least not as far as Juudai could judge. But it had always been hard to read Ryou's emotions.

At least for Juudai. He'd always had a lot of problems reading anyone else's emotions.

He brought his attention back quickly. He knew the real answer, but it wasn't one that he could give away just yet. Instead, he rubbed the back of his head and offered a grin.

"I think you two are going to get along, that's all. He doesn't have a lot of real friends back home. Never had the knack of it. But you two..." Juudai shrugged. "Call it a hunch?"

Ryou stared at him to the point Juudai almost expected him to say something that he shouldn't have just yet. Finally he shrugged. "I don't make friends well either."

That was true enough, and something that seemed to fit no matter what Ryou would check under 'species'. Juudai couldn't even begin to hold back his laughter.

"Doesn't matter. If you two don't get along, I can find somewhere else for him to live. But try it?"

There were people who would gladly have done so just because he'd asked them to. His word wasn't law here, but people had a tendency not to want to get on his bad side. But Ryou considered the question before he nodded.

"All right. When will you bring him here?"

"Next week." Juudai declared, hopping back to his feet. "He's got to finish up some things before he can come."

After all this time, Juudai had managed to learn a few tricks, such as not talking too much when he had a secret to keep. It really hadn't been that hard, but given what this would lead to, if everything worked out the way that he hoped, he didn't want to spoil the game this soon.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** You have no idea of how much I'm looking forward to next week. Or especially the week after.


	4. Chapter 4

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 4/30|| **Words:** 8,286  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Chaos Hunter tapped the haft of her whip against her thigh, considering her options. There weren't as many of them as she would have liked, and _his_ arrival made them even fewer.

She should have struck sooner, in those moments between her realization that Hell Kaiser lived in this minuscule village, as common and ordinary as if he were any other spirit, and Haou's arrival.

If she'd struck then, it would all be over, and she could move on, her brother's soul at rest. Now she had to take more caution.

 _What is he doing here?_ That bothered her more than she wanted to think too much on. Hell Kaiser was _human_. There'd been few enough humans here before the war and now all these years later, there shouldn't have been that many.

Yet here he was, living peacefully in the village. It didn't seem right.

 _I heard he was dead._ She turned that thought over and over in her mind. She hadn't believed it at first, but she watched him as he spoke with Haou and the longer she did, the more tiny differences she could see between him and what she considered the 'average' human.

His eyes were a haunting shade of blue-green, not one she'd ever seen on any human. There was a faint undertone of gold to his skin, not something she remembered on anyone else. In truth, she wasn't an expert on humans, but these things didn't seem quite to mesh with what she knew.

His ears didn't help either: slightly pointed, not quite to the degree of an elf's, but more so than common for humans. And he moved like a spirit, quick and graceful, unlike the clumsy fumblings of humans.

It wasn't entirely impossible. Old legends spoke of such things. But a human could become a spirit, and the portal most often used to accomplish this could be death.

This also failed to change her mind on her goal to achieve his proper death. He'd killed her brother. Whatever he'd been then, whatever he was now, Chaos Hunter wasn't going to let the death of Chaos Sorcerer go unavenged.

If anything, it only meant that she would have to plan more carefully. If he were a spirit now, then he could be stronger than she was, and he could have abilities that would be very irksome if used against her.

Two ways to deal with that, then, she decided. Many spirits had dueling cards dedicated to them. She could investigate and find out what his was and what he could do. Or she could send servants to attack and see what he did.

Her lips curved up into a rich, taunting smile. She liked the idea of that far better. Now all she needed to do was find some underlings who could accomplish her task.

She whistled softly. She had at least one who could assist in that.

Chaos Hunter hadn't been one of Haou's Death Duelists back in the day. But she was Chaos Sorcerer's sister and she'd ranked just under the Death Duelists, and by all rights, she could claim the remnants of his army for herself. That was what happened in Dark World, and sun or no sun, that was what would _always_ happen there.

And one of the few who remained who currently acknowledged her position lived in this very village, right underneath everyone's nose. A perfect way to get what she wanted.

This world would tremble when she brought down her wrath.

* * *

 _He has a friend._ That shouldn't have been so surprising. There were many people who had friends. If Ryou thought about it long enough, he presumed that he and Juudai were friends.

He'd never had any other friends to compare it to, so he wasn't sure, but from what he'd seen around the village, it seemed that way. Close enough, at any rate.

But what was somewhat more interesting was that this friend would be coming to live here, and that this friend was a human.

Had he ever met a human? Did Juudai count as human? More questions that he didn't know the answer to, and which somewhat felt to him as if he _should_ know the answer and yet he didn't.

Perhaps this new person – Juudai neglected to mention his name before leaving again – would have those answers. Ryou made a mental note to ask when he had the chance. There was so much that he needed to know, and the people around here didn't seem to be interested in providing answers.

He'd not asked questions, either, but with this potential new arrival, those questions began to flicker through his thoughts one by one.

Why had Juudai brought him here, of all places?

Where, _who_ had he been before he'd opened his eyes that first time? He had to have existed before that. There were few beings who sprang into existence fully formed. What he'd gathered was that like so many else here, he was a spirit, but that didn't mean he hadn't been born a baby and grown into what he knew himself to be.

Who, exactly, was Juudai? They called him Herald, but why? What did it _mean_?

What had been the war that people spoke of? That he'd gained a little more information on, just by listening. Some few years earlier, a powerful warlord entitled Haou brought down a reign of unprecedented fury on the world. For months he'd gone unchallenged and unstopped, until a small band of heroes from another world appeared. With great loss they'd somehow brought his reign to an end.

That was, according to all the stories he'd heard, when the blue comet that had once graced the skies of this world vanished, replaced by the sun and moon.

He'd heard many tiny stories about those days, small adventures people experienced in fleeing from the Haou's warriors. There was so much that he didn't know as well: where the Haou came from, why he unleashed such rage and hatred, and who those heroes had been: and what happened to them afterward. What he'd heard was only that the survivors vanished, possibly back to their own world, and the remnants of Haou's army scattered to the winds.

That wasn't nearly enough for him. His instincts all said that there was far more that he was missing, that hearing the whole story would answer questions and give them both.

And there wasn't anyone in the village who could give him those answers.

He wondered if Juudai's friend would be curious about this. He wondered just who that friend was and what he would be like.

Ryou hadn't taken more than a few steps back toward the village when he could feel eyes on his back. That had happened a few times over the years, but very rarely with the kind of rage he could feel now. He raised his eyes, checking for any sign of who it might be, and as always, saw nothing.

Yet the feeling didn't fade. If anything, it grew stronger for a few moments before it finally did begin to recede, as if whoever watched the area between his shoulder blades finally found somewhere else to be.

Ryou checked around again. He didn't think anyone in the village hated him this much, and he'd definitely picked up hate from whoever this was.

 _Whoever it is can face me if that's what they want._ If all they wanted to do was stare menacingly at him, he had far better ways to fill his time. Such as figuring out what to do with Juudai's newly arriving friend.

* * *

Command Angel fidgeted. She didn't like to fidget; it went against every speck of discipline grained into her for as far back as she could remember. She would have preened her wings if possible, but that required far more focus than she had.

Seeing Haou-sama again… no. He was Herald-sama now. He'd never _said_ that, but the way that he spoke and the way that he acted made such a difference. He wasn't here for conquest. He wasn't _anywhere_ for conquest, not anymore.

And yet if he commanded anything, Command Angel knew that she'd work her hardest to fulfill that command.

Such as now. Hearing that he wanted one of his human friends to live in the village for a while, she'd at once made certain that there was a place for them to stay, and that according to Herald-sama's wishes, it was close to Ryou's abode.

Command Angel double-checked everything, then triple-checked on the double checking. The village had enough resources to cover several new arrivals and to have one supported by Herald-sama would surely provide them with more. Herald-sama wouldn't send them a drain on their resources.

Assured that everything would work as it should, Command Angel entered her own home, letting the burdens of worry and command slide off for now. Here she could preen if she wanted to. Here she could relax and let herself have a quiet drink.

That was one of the perks of being in charge, she'd learned. So long as everyone else was well taken care of, she could enjoy a quiet drink at the end of the day.

No sooner had she poured the glass when a familiar voice spoke.

"I'll have that. And take one for yourself as well."

Command Angel's hand shook and she set the glass down before she spilled all of the wine. Slowly she turned, far less surprised than she wanted to be to see Chaos Hunter lounging in her living room.

"What are you doing here?" Command Angel asked, trying hard to keep her voice steady. This wasn't at all how she'd wanted her day to end. She'd been doing so _well_.

"We need a few words," Chaos Hunter said, gesturing to her. "I said I'll have that."

Command Angel steeled herself and brought the drink over. By the laws of commanding, Chaos Hunter was her superior: sort of. Herald-sama still commanded her respect. But to see Chaos Hunter like this…

She knew she'd do as she was told. She wouldn't like it, but when did anyone ever like all of their orders?

Hunter took the glass and sipped it, lips twitching at the taste. "You have to have something better than this slop."

"That's the best I have."

"Then being leader around here doesn't pay well enough." Hunter met Command Angel's eyes directly. "But that's enough for pleasantries. I have a simple job for you."

Command Angel's wings twitched at those words. "I'm very busy. I can't leave here." She knew she'd obey anyway if Chaos Hunter pushed it. She just didn't want that to happen.

"You won't have to." Chaos Hunter set the glass down and leaned forward. "You have a _person_ named Ryou in this village."

Command Angel nodded, wary. "What about him?"

"I want to know all that you know about him. Where did he come from? What's he doing here? What abilities does he have?" One hand dropped down to tap at her whip's base. "And why is _he_ interested in this person?"

Command Angel swallowed. "You mean Herald-sama?" Oh, this was already starting to look so very bad.

"Yes. Can you answer any of those now?"

There had to be time. She had to have time to sort through all of this. "Not now," she said. It wasn't exactly a lie. She didn't know most of it and what she did know was more from observation than cold hard facts. "But give me a few days?" In a few days, Herald-sama would return with his friend, and she could pass it on to him. Tell _him_ Chaos Hunter was around.

He'd already asked that if she saw anyone from the old army to let him know. He outranked Chaos Hunter, didn't he?

Chaos Hunter nodded, picking the glass up again and tasting it, lip curling. "And one more point: if you open your mouth to _anyone_ about my presence here or what I want of you, I'll destroy everyone in this village. Grind them down into dust and memories." She raised her head to stare at Command Angel mercilessly. "Do you understand me, _soldier_?"

Command Angel drew herself up as tall as she could manage and saluted, heart sinking. "Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Command Angel is having a very bad day. It's not going to get any better.


	5. Chapter 5

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 5/30|| **Words:** 10,363  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

"Got everything?" Juudai asked, poking his head into the bedroom.

Fujiwara Yuusuke glanced back at him, fastening the latch on his suitcase as he did. "Yes." He'd always been a quiet person and not much in the last few years had changed that.

Right now, though, he tilted his head a tiny fraction. "He's really there?"

Juudai nodded without a bit of hesitation. "Like I said, though, he doesn't remember anyone yet. But this could help him."

Yuusuke nodded, hefting the suitcase over his shoulder. "I'll do my best."

Juudai didn't doubt for a single moment that he would. This was the first real step in the long plan that he'd haphazardly put together. He couldn't even say if it would _work_ but it at least needed to be tried.

By the time the two of them stepped out of the small apartment building, the sun climbed almost up to noon. Juudai hadn't given any particular time to show up at the village, but the sooner they got all of this started the better.

"Where to?" Yuusuke wanted to know. Juudai turned to the nearest alleyway.

"Here." He needed the shadows to do what he was going to do. The more shadows, the better. It would have been even better if he could have waited until nightfall, but he wanted to get started as soon as he could.

This particular road had been tucked a bit out of sight. Yuusuke wasn't, even after everything, much of a people person, and he far preferred not being in public if he could avoid it. Now that meant there weren't too many people around to see as they headed for the dark alleyway.

There weren't that many people that Juudai could do this with. He'd learned over the years that while he could move himself anywhere he wanted to go with ease – well, not always ease – moving people turned out to be a little harder.

One of those he could move almost as easily as he could himself was Fujiwara Yuusuke. That would _definitely_ make this a much easier trip.

They headed halfway down the alleyway before stopping. Juudai turned to look at Yuusuke.

"You've said good-bye to everyone? They know you won't be in touch for a few months?" Or possibly longer. No one could be entirely certain of how long this project would take.

Yuusuke nodded. Juudai's eyes flicked behind him to see Honest hovering, worry all over his expression, but saying nothing at all. He'd agreed to this when Yuusuke and Juudai brought it up, but traveling through Juudai's power wasn't easy even for those who he could take.

Juudai held his hand out to Yuusuke and the other took it. The moment he did, Juudai could feel the strength and the power underneath his skin. Spending five years in Darkness's territory left marks of many kinds, marks that not even years in the light could erase.

Juudai's own darkness wrapped around the two of them. He could see perfectly well, of course, but no one else could. This Darkness was him, after all.

He could feel Yubel's presence pressed close against him, and that of the Neo-Spacians as well. Through Elemental Hero Neos he could feel the other Elemental Heroes as well. They were all there.

On the far side of Neos there was also a faint hint of gleaming rainbow and Juudai smiled. Even if Johan couldn't be there, he was there all the same.

He would have to bring him along one day for a visit. It had been too long since Johan's last trip to this world.

Darkness in. Darkness out. The shadows rolled away from them to reveal the usual hill where Juudai arrived when he came to this world. It looked about the same time, the sun a bit closer to noon, but with clouds gathering to the east: it would rain soon here. A good enough reason to get under cover as quickly as they could.

Yuusuke glanced around curiously. "This is it?"

"This is it," Juudai agreed, gesturing in the direction of the village. "It's that way. Come on, the rain here can get pretty rough."

Within a few steps, Honest reappeared, watching the area cautiously. The warrior angel hid himself almost as often as Yubel did, though for other reasons. He glanced toward Yuusuke.

"Are you feeling well, master?"

Yuusuke blinked; he hadn't anticipated that question. But he shrugged. "Well enough. Let's get there before the rain starts."

Juudai saw not a single reason to argue with that. He'd been gone several days and he wanted to get this part of things wrapped up. Together, they hurried along the path, Juudai a few steps ahead to show the way.

* * *

Yuusuke knew what was bothering Honest. He hadn't done much traveling outside of his world. In point of fact, the only real time he'd done that had been when he'd been involved with Darkness. And this world had once been the Dark World itself.

Though it wasn't as dark as it _had_ been. Juudai told him the story, with Shou, O'Brien, and Jim filling in other parts as necessary. Edo helped as well, telling those parts that he and Ryou experienced before encountering the others again. Ryou hadn't spoken much of it before his untimely...departure.

The thought of Ryou tugged at his heart. Despite all the years since then, despite having attended the funeral, he hadn't quite been able to fully wrap his head around the concept of Ryou being dead. He'd always been so vibrant, so alive, even when he'd had sluggish and slow days due to everything else.

But to see him again, to see him as a spirit and not a human…

That Yuusuke didn't know if he could wrap his head around, either. According to Juudai, he looked almost the same. There were a few alterations here and there, but except for his lack of memory, he mostly acted the same.

Perhaps he could help with that. It was one of the reasons that he wast here, after all.

He almost didn't notice at first when the path wound around and he could see the village suddenly spread out there. Surrounded by a wall with guards at all the corners, the village looked well defended and well built. Mountains rose up behind it, close enough that part of the village had been built into it.

Yuusuke could see people moving about there as well. Most of them looked roughly human-ish in the general sense of two legs, two arms, a head, and a torso. They were too far away for him to tell any other differences that they might have, though.

 _I can't see Ryou, though._ He would be there somewhere. Yuusuke trusted Juudai on that.

Juudai kept on down to the gate, guarded by two burly muscled types. Yuusuke wasn't sure if they were card spirits or not, but both were well armed and armored and stared at the two as they approached.

"Hi!" Juudai waved casually once they were close enough. "Where's Command Angel?"

The guards exchanged a quick look before one of them answered. "One moment, Herald."

He called out to someone, and a few moments later, a tiny creature fluttered up there. "Pixie Guardian," the guard ordered, "let Command Angel know that the Herald and his… guest? Are here."

"Got it!" Pixie Guardian, no bigger than the palm of Yuusuke's hand, saluted before zipping off out of sight again.

"This is Fujiwara Yuusuke," Juudai said, glancing from one guard to the other. "He's going to be staying here." He turned to Yuusuke, his eyes glinting in a way that had nothing to do with the way the light tilted. "Honest?"

Yuusuke couldn't be that surprised to see Honest appearing again. He'd vanished somewhere along the way. Yuusuke always knew where his partner was, so seeing him or not seeing him didn't make much of a difference.

"This is my partner, Honest," Yuusuke said, gesturing toward the angel. "He's usually around, even if you don't see him."

The guards nodded. Yuusuke hoped that meant that they wouldn't be bothered. He had too much to do here to let himself be distracted, especially by people who didn't understand about him or Honest.

Footsteps sounded, light and quick, and he glanced up, following Juudai's gaze to two people coming closer. One was a genuine angel, just like Honest, though female, dressed somewhat in a soldierly fashion, and with wings shorter than his. That had to be Command Angel.

But less than a step behind strode a figure that Yuusuke hadn't seen in five years. And when he'd last seen him…

Yuusuke's heart twisted ever so faintly and he had to remind himself that Ryou wouldn't remember him. The way Ryou's gaze rested ever so calmly on him, without even the hint of recognition that there'd been when they'd met when Darkness unleashed his power on Earth, sent his heart pattering in sadness.

"Herald-sama," Command Angel said with a faint tilt of her head. "I thought it best to bring Ryou-san here as well."

"Right!" Juudai grinned, smile bright as the sun. He gestured to Yuusuke and Honest, moving towards Ryou. "Ryou, this is the friend I told you about, and his partner. Fujiwara Yuusuke and Honest." He tilted his head towards Yuusuke. "This is Ryou."

 _Marufuji Ryou. Hell Kaiser._ Yuusuke filled in the rest on his own. Ryou might not remember his title from the old days, but Yuusuke hoped to see that changed before he left here.

For now, he bent his head courteously. "A pleasure to meet you, Ryou-san." The honorific didn't feel right. He hadn't used one of those for Ryou since a few weeks after their first meeting. Ryou simply told him to drop the 'Marufuji-kun' and call him Ryou.

Yuusuke hadn't always been able to do that, but he'd done his best over the months until he'd made his decision to leave. Once he'd returned, he'd fought harder at it, calling Ryou by his unadorned name.

And now Ryou looked at him, the faintest of frowns between his eyes, before he spoke.

"A pleasure as well."

His voice hadn't changed a great deal. Nor had most of the rest of him. A faint gold tinge to his skin, a jewel-like glow to his eyes, his ears pointed a fraction, that was it. Enough the same so that Yuusuke could still recognize him without effort. His clothes were the real difference, and mostly in terms of design than actual style.

Because Hell Kaiser had been born to wear black leather and while this wasn't the same coat he'd worn five years earlier by any means, he wore black leather from head to foot, boots to jacket, every stitch of it handmade from some creature Yuusuke didn't recognize.

Command Angel cleared her throat. Yuusuke hadn't met her before, but he thought she looked a bit nervous. Juudai could have that effect on people, with or without trying.

"You have a home prepared for you, Fujiwara-san," Command Angel told him. "It's near to Ryou-san's. Once you've settled in, we can determine what your task in the village will be."

Yuusuke nodded; Juudai explained that to him while they'd made the preparations for this. Everyone had to contribute something if they were going to live here. He already knew what his abilities would lead him to do. He looked forward to seeing just what it was Ryou did, since according to Juudai, he didn't duel.

Again. Yet. Again, one of the points Yuusuke anticipated being able to change as they grew to know each other all over again.

"I can show you around," Ryou offered, eyes flicking between Juudai and Command Angel. "It shouldn't take long."

Yuusuke nodded, shifting his grip on his suitcase. "Can I drop this off first? It's getting a little heavy."

"This way." Ryou turned and headed away, Yuusuke a few steps behind him. Yuusuke tried hard not to remember too much about how much this reminded him of his early days at Duel Academia, when Ryou showed him around there, telling him all the little bits of information that would make his life easier.

How Ryou knew all of that Yuusuke had never known. But what he'd said ended up being extremely useful, and Yuusuke never forgot. Just as he knew he'd never forget this first walk with a stranger who carried the face of his friend.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** No shipping here but if I were going to, it would be Ryou x Yuusuke.


	6. Chapter 6

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 6/30|| **Words:** 12,409  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Two sensations warred in Ryou's mind starting from the moment he laid eyes on Fujiwara Yuusuke. The first and strongest was to get him somewhere alone and start to ask all the questions that boiled through his blood, because at that moment, he knew that Fujiwara _could_ answer them all. Why he knew that he wasn't certain, but the certainty that it could happen sang along in his blood.

The second was to ask a question still, but one just a touch different from the others. Not quite about his own past and about the mysteries that he had yet to uncover, but something about Fujiwara himself.

 _How do I know you? I do, I know that I do, but I don't know_ _ **how**_ _._

No one followed them as Ryou led Fujiwara Yuusuke away from the entrance to the village and started to show him around. There wasn't that much that he needed to show; just the dining area and some of the slightly more important homes, useful to know in case of danger.

But with every passing moment, the questions buzzed through him, crawling closer and closer to his lips, demanding to be spoken, to be answered. Ryou held them back by sheer force of will. Out here, in the open, wasn't either a good time or a good place.

Fujiwara paid attention to everything Ryou said, asking quiet questions of his own, never anything intrusive, always about the village itself.

At least until they came at last to Ryou's own home, and Fujiwara turned those penetrating violet eyes of his onto Ryou.

"Do you like living here?"

Ryou tilted his head for a moment in thought. He lifted his shoulders, the faintest of shrugs. "I don't dislike it." He'd not considered the question much before. He'd spent the last five years building a life. There hadn't been much time or effort given to if he _liked_ it or not.

Fujiwara nodded before he glanced to Ryou's small home. "So this is yours."

"Yes. Yours is there." He indicated the place across the muddy path, that might have been a road somewhere else. There wasn't much to distinguish them from one another at the moment. Ryou's place showed some small signs of having been lived in, while Fujiwara's didn't as of yet. Ryou couldn't remember if anyone had ever lived there. They hadn't in the last five years, anyway.

He pressed his lips together for a few moments. He wasn't given to snap decisions, but he wanted to make certain he got the answers that he needed.

"Would you like to come in?" He gestured to his place and Fujiwara nodded without a shred of hesitation.

As they entered, something else occured to Ryou. "Your partner? I don't see him."

"Honest shows up when he chooses to," Fujiwara replied easily. "He can be seen here more than back on Earth, but he still prefers to keep to himself."

"Earth." Ryou tasted the word. It tasted familiar and strange all at the same time, home and a place he'd never been before. "Where you come from?"

Was that a bit of hesitation before Fujiwara's answer? If there was, it could have meant anything.

"Yes. it's not a bad place, but I have things to do here. So I'll be here a while."

Ryou nodded. He showed Yuusuke his own home, small as it was. A single room with everything he needed: a place he could make his morning tea, a bed, a fireplace with two chairs before it, and a small selection of books over the fireplace.

"Where did you get these?" Fujiwara wondered, glancing at his collection.

"I bartered for most of them. Traveling trains come through every few months, and there are markets within a few days of here. So long as I can find something to trade, I can usually get one or two every few months."

Ryou gave his books a quiet look of approval. They weren't the cards that his hands burned for now and then, but they satisfied parts of him. A few tales of fancy, a few histories – nothing with information about Haou or the war to his growing dismay – and a few with information on plants and creatures one could use for survival in this world. There were other odds and ends of course – Ryou chose what he acquired by a mixture of what he wanted or needed and just thinking it looked interesting – but those were the bulk of them.

He turned back to what most would term a kitchen of some sort. "Would you like some tea?" The next words slid out of his mouth without a thought attached to them. "I don't have any Shincha, though."

The two of them didn't precisely freeze, but Ryou looked back, questions written in every line of his body. He couldn't remembering having said that before but he knew what it was: Fujiwara's favorite tea.

Fujiwara's eyes met his and their gaze held for a few seconds before the visitor spoke. "That's quite all right. I wouldn't expect it."

Ryou pulled his eyes away and stepped back to the tiny kitchen nook. About all he made here was his tea anyway so all he had was a small place to heat water and storage for those few items he preferred to make for himself.

"I have to barter for this as well," he said after a few silent moments. "It's very much like Kukicha, but a touch sweeter."

Another word he hadn't said before, but he knew what he meant as soon as he said it: it was his own favorite, or had been once upon a time. He'd had to cut back on it for some reason that he wasn't entirely sure of. A reason that didn't apply anymore…

"I look forward to it," Fujiwara said, a faint tightness in his voice. Ryou wanted to find out why.

He wanted to know so much and yet the words wouldn't quite come. He pressed his lips together, determined that he would have at least some answers before the end of the day, and worked on making the tea.

"Would Honest care of some?" He thought to ask. There was enough for three, but he would have to go to the southern market to get more. Which meant he would need to get something to trade for it. That required effort; the teamakers didn't always want the same things.

Perhaps he and Fujiwara could work out something together. If Fujiwara were going to stay here for a while, he'd need to learn how the bartering system worked.

"Yes, I would," Honest said. Ryou glanced for a moment to see the angel now standing next to Fujiwara. He nodded before he worked on finishing off the three cups and brought theirs over first.

All enjoyed theirs in silence for perhaps half a cup before Ryou steadied himself and stared at Fujiwara. He could wait no longer.

"Juudai brought you here for a reason. I want to know what that reason is."

Fujiwara sipped at his tea, but it was more of a pretext to have something to do right now. His words were quiet when he answered.

"Many reasons. I don't quite fit on Earth. I never did, but I tried for a long time. I almost thought I'd done it. I even had a good job. You know what dueling is, of course?" Ryou nodded. "I worked for the man who brought it to Earth, offering new ideas for cards when I met spirits who didn't have them and wanted them."

Ryou's fingers tightened on his cup. He said nothing else, though, as Fujiwara kept going.

"It still wasn't right, though. I've never felt entirely right there. And… I'd lost someone close to me a few years ago. One of the few friends I ever had." Fujiwara stared down into his teacup and Honest pressed a hand onto his shoulder. "There wasn't much Earth had left to offer me then. I had a different friend; he tried very hard to help, but it wasn't the same thing."

Fujiwara turned the cup a little in his hands. "I talked to Juudai about it not that long ago. He thought coming here would be a fresh start for me." A tiny smile flicked over his lips. "I'm on extended leave from my job, technically. I don't have to do anything, but if I meet a spirit who doesn't have a card and wants one..."

Ryou's throat dried. He swallowed, took a gulp of his tea, and tried to speak. Amazingly he succeeded.

"I am a spirit. One that doesn't have a card. That I know of."

Fujiwara raised his eyes. "I know. Juudai told me that before I came here. He told me about you, in particular."

"What did he say?" Could those answers really be that close?

Fujiwara didn't answer at once and when he did, Ryou suspected that he chose his words with the greatest of care. "That you could use help to find out who you used to be and who you are now. That if I can be that help, I should at least try."

Ryou set his cup down. He refused to break it. Bartering for new cups was even harder than bartering for fresh tea.

"I know you." The words fell sharp and sliced between the two of them. "I don't remember knowing you but I do. And I want to know why."

"That's not all you want to know, is it?" Honest asked. Ryou couldn't decide if he looked right or ridiculous holding his teacup. He also wondered if he should introduce Honest and Shine Angel to one another.

"No, it isn't." Ryou breathed before he said the rest of it. "I want to know who I am, and who I was. Why Juudai chose here to bring me and everything about this war I heard of." The war had been long ago, ten or twelve years, but since the first time he'd heard about it, Ryou knew it was important to him somehow. It would fill in one of those empty spaces in his mind. "I want to know everything that I don't know now about myself and this world."

Fujiwara offered a small smile, one faint but sweet all the same. "I can't answer everything, because I don't know everything. But I can tell you a few things. Juudai… he told me that the holes of your memory will have to fill themselves in naturally, but I know a little more about memories than he does." Against he cast a glance at his cup, then to Honest, who nodded the briefest of nods. "One memory can lead to another, but there's always a point to start with. Do you want to start now?"

Again two points conflicted in Ryou. Inner caution screamed that he didn't know this person well enough. If he'd known him before – and Ryou suspected more with each breath that he did – he didn't know. Could he trust half-thoughts from a part of him that only barely existed now?

His inner demand for answers was far simpler. He wanted to know. He wanted to know now and he wanted to know it all.

A third option occurred to him. He considered it before he turned his attention back to Fujiwara.

"I think I would like to wait a while. To learn what I can before you tell me what I can't."

If he'd known this person before, then he would get to know them again. Once they knew each other – again – well enough, then the other answers to come. As slow and frustrating as this was, Ryou refused to rush things. He wanted to be certain he made the right choice.

And he wanted to get to know Fujiwara Yuusuke and Honest, to understand what made them tick, to see if he could learn what he'd once known in a new and different way.

He picked up his tea and sipped again. He could feel vague memories pressing at the back of his mind, vague in detail but stronger in existence than they'd ever been. He paid only scant attention now. He looked at Honest.

"Do you know Shine Angel?"

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** The two types of tea Ryou mentions are both Japanese teas, of course. Shincha comes from tea picked earliest in the season, and is thought to be sweeter than teas picked later. Kukicha is made from stems, stalks, and twigs and has a nutty flavor.

Terribly sorry I was late on posting this, but it took longer than I thought to get it written. Ryou was being stubborn. But I have over half the details worked out now so it might not happen again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 7/30|| **Words:** 14,444  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

 _I hope this works._ Juudai knew Yuusuke wasn't happy on Earth. He'd never been properly happy there, no matter how hard he tried. Losing Ryou just made matters that much harder.

 **It will.** Yubel assured him. Yubel didn't bother to appear; their warm voice echoed only in his mind. **He understands what is necessary.**

Juudai hoped that was true. Yuusuke had quite a few qualities and skills that would make this project work. Which didn't mean it would, just that it could.

"Herald-sama?" Command Angel approached. "May I speak with you?"

Juudai tilted his head. "Sure, what is it?" He could feel Yubel's awareness, but that wasn't surprising. Yubel made certain they were aware of everything going on around him. It was rather sweet.

"You never said exactly how he would be contributing to the village," Command Angel reminded him. "I presume he'll gain whatever it is he needs here, but what will he provide?"

Juudai grinned at that, a small little twitch of his lips and no more. "Well, I think you're going to have to ask him. He knows what he can do a lot more than I do. But you really don't have to worry about it. He'll be useful, I promise."

Yuusuke hadn't wanted him to tell anyone of his own skills, choosing to reveal what he could do at his own pace. Juudai absolutely understood that. Some things didn't need to be told right away.

Command Angel didn't look all that happy, though. She didn't press about the matter, eyes flicking away from him to where Ryou and Yuusuke could just barely be seen walking through the paths between the huts and homes.

"I'll speak to him soon about it then," she murmured. Juudai thought she sounded a touch more worried than she really had any right to be.

"Is everything all right?" If they needed some kind of special help, Juudai would check to see who he could get in touch with. Ever since he'd brought Ryou here, he'd kept a special eye on this village, keeping it as safe as he could manage without terrifying people.

 **If you told everyone it was under your protection, no one would bother anyone here.**

Juudai knew that. Which was why he didn't do it; he'd rather people didn't hurt other people because they didn't _want_ to, not because they were terrified of what he would do to them if they did hurt someone.

He could feel Yubel's amusement at that, and pulled his attention away from them in time to catch Command Angel's next request, after assuring him that everything was absolutely fine – and lying through her teeth about that, too.

"Sure, I can stay for dinner! Thanks!" He took his meals anywhere he could find them, from picking fruit off a tree to doing some hunting to crossing paths with someone who had some to spare or whatever would get him what he needed. He was pretty good at it after all these years.

Command Angel bent her head. "We're honored, then, Herald-sama."

A faint trickle of unease flickered all through him. Juudai wasn't sure of what to call it, only that coupled with the certainty that Command Angel was lying about whatever was going on around here, everything suddenly felt very wrong.

* * *

Chaos Hunter intended to return to the village before much longer, but she preferred not to stay there while _he_ was there. She preferred not to even think his name while too close there.

He'd never specifically admitted to being able to read minds, but there had been plenty of those who served under him who were convinced down to their cores that Haou-sama _could_ do just that, and there had been a few executed for crimes they'd not actually committed. Their surviving friends frequently admitted that they had thought about doing those crimes, however.

So, best to stay as far from there as possible. So far he didn't seem aware of her presence, and Chaos Hunter wouldn't have been surprised to find out Command Angel thought about her while too close to him. But better not to take chances, not when her potential revenge hung so very close to her.

At least she had something to occupy her time until he'd departed. Command Angel would get her information, but Chaos Hunter didn't want to wait for that. She needed another set of eyes and pair of hands, and she knew exactly where to find it.

He'd been seen around here, quite a fair distance from that village, but within her travel reach. Most people thought nothing of him, knowing next to nothing about what he'd done many years earlier.

Chaos Hunter knew better.

She stood hidden in the shadows cast by a rock formation, staring at the cave below her. There was a town out of sight where he popped up frequently to steal food and play whatever pranks crossed his thoughts on the people here. In her opinion, that was quite a comedown from what he'd done during the war.

She could wait for her revenge. Gathering her forces, getting information, and making plans kept her occupied for all of that. But standing here and waiting for one little irritating creature to return? That stressed her nerves more than she cared to admit.

There! Finally! Chaos Hunter refused to sigh in relief, but at least he'd finally shown up. He'd clearly made a good haul today, since he carried a large bag, out of which he dragged a round ripe gray-skinned fruit which he immediately chewed into. Chaos Hunter's stomach growled. She wanted some of that.

Her strike was quick, whip lashing against his shoulders, right next to his wings, and Dark Familiar dropped his bag, falling away, squeaking rapidly as he stared upward to where she approached.

"It's been such a long time, hasn't it?" Chaos Hunter asked, digging into the bag and pulling out a handful of berries. "You've been doing very well for yourself. What would your old master think of this?"

Dark Familiar stared at her, eyes rounded, before he replied, voice low and squeaky and terrified.

"What are you doing here?" There were few indeed he spoke to like this; normally only whoever he'd accepted as his master. Given what she'd seen, she suspected the last one of those to be Guardian Baou himself.

"Hiring you. Or if you want to be strict about it, telling you that you're going to work for me, because if you don't, I know several ways to dispose of you, and the only issue would be picking which one."

Chaos Hunter smiled as she spoke. She wasn't lying. Her current favorite option involved dragging Dark Familiar over to an old friend of hers – one she'd made after the war, one who had some interesting tastes and even more interesting abilities. One that would make dealing with Dark Familiar that much easier should it be required.

It would also be a great deal of fun.

Dark Familiar twitched, eyes shifting all around, searching for help that wasn't there and wouldn't be there. Chaos Hunter raised one hand.

"You have until the count of three to agree." She left off all the rest. He would understand what she meant.

"Why would you want me? Surely you have better options!" Dark Familiar squeaked.

Chaos Hunter brought down one finger.

"Spying could have killed me then! It's not much better now! They don't kill thieves...usually!" Dark Familiar started to reach for his bag, until she kicked him away from it.

And brought down the second finger.

"I could – I can – you -" Dark Familiar's fingers dug into the dirt beneath him before he finally crashed to his knees before her. "Chaos Hunter-sama."

He didn't sound all that thrilled about her new honorific. But she tapped him on one shoulder with the tips of her fingers.

"Good. Now, these are my orders: you know the village of Sunstride?"

Dark Familiar nodded. "I haven't been there in ages. They don't know me there."

Chaos Hunter suspected that he hoped that would mean she couldn't use him for whatever. He was quite wrong.

"I want you to go there and keep an eye on things for me. There are two in particular that I wish to be informed of. You'll have to watch to find them, but one is the one known as Hell Kaiser." She still hadn't learned all the details on that, but it was enough to get her new spy started. "The other will likely be a companion to him. Watch and see who he associates with. I'll return for more information in due time. And you had best have some for me."

Slowly Dark Familiar rose up, wings fluttering hard, and nodded. He reached for his bag of fruit and she was kind enough to let him have it.

"As you wish, Chaos Hunter-sama," he murmured, dipping into a quick bow before darting off out of sight. He would have gone faster without the fruit, but she didn't stop him. The longer he took, the more likely it was that Haou wouldn't be there when he actually arrived. That would make everything far more to her liking.

But now the thought of her old friend teased at the back of her mind. She hadn't seen Daemon Tamer in far too long, and it was definitely time to go renew old acquaintances.

* * *

Shou turned the letter over in his hands. Over the last couple of weeks he'd read it many times and he'd already taken care of answering it. That didn't mean he didn't keep reading it, trying to grasp the words more fully.

He'd spent the last several years of his life around Yuuki Juudai. He might not be able to _see_ spirits, but even he could figure out some things when the right information hung so very close.

The letter came in an envelope with the Industrial Illusions seal on it. It had also been signed by Pegasus himself.

A simple couple of paragraphs; one offering sympathies for the loss of his brother – not even belated ones, just renewed ones – and then a simple, gentle request.

Would he be all right with a card to be crafted in his brother's image and in his honor? Getting it all detailed out would take time and it hadn't yet been decided if it would be mass produced or not. If it wasn't, then when the card existed, it would be mailed to him to keep if he so desired. It would also be legal to play in his deck if that suited him.

Juudai had been there the night his brother died. Shou had been too busy at the time to notice what he did, but he would never forget that Juudai who could see spirits had been there.

And now Fujiwara Yuusuke – also able to see spirits – had packed up everything he had and gone off somewhere as well. No one seemed to know where, or if they did, no one was telling Shou about it. He'd only managed to hear about it from Fubuki-san.

Shou came to a decision. He picked up his phone and dialed Juudai's number, not surprised in the slightest when there wasn't an answer and he had to deal with the voice mail.

"It's me, aniki," he said quietly. "I think there's something that we need to talk about. Come here whenever you can, please?"

He set his phone down and stared over at the small shrine on the far wall. He'd built it shortly after his brother's funeral, something he'd never thought he'd have to make. Most of the time he didn't even think about it anymore. It was a part of his life.

A single card rested before it. He only removed it from there when he had an important duel to fight, and not even always then. Only when that slight inner nudge said that it would be a good thing to do.

Carefully he picked it up. He couldn't see or hear spirits like some of his friends, but he'd frequently thought over the years that he could hear the strident, powerful cry coming from Cyber End Dragon.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I think I want to call Chaos Hunter and Daemon Tamer Whipshipping.


	8. Chapter 8

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 8/30|| **Words:** 16,545  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Honest repeated the words out loud. "Shine Angel?" The corners of his lips turned upward briefly. "He's here?"

Ryou raised his head. "You do know him, then." He hadn't spoken often to Shine Angel – he only knew him because the angel was one of the more striking members of the community – and on those few occasions he'd made no real mention of who else he might know who didn't live here. He'd mostly asked from a small flicker of curiosity, nothing more.

But now Honest's smile warmed a fraction. "He's my brother. I haven't seen him in years, however." His gaze moved over to Yuusuke, who ducked his head, whispering words that Ryou thought were an apology. Honest's smile didn't fade. "Would you like to meet him, master?"

"Could we?" Yuusuke asked, now looking at Ryou. Ryou shrugged.

"I don't see why not. I don't think he's on duty right now."

"Duty?" Yuusuke wanted to know as they headed out in Ryou's wake.

"He's one of the guards. He's offered to teach me how to duel if I ever find a deck that suits me." Ryou shrugged. "I'm a sentry. Guards are higher ranked and are usually duelists."

"And you don't duel." Yuusuke said, the softest bit of pain in his tone. Ryou glanced back.

"I haven't found a deck that works with me yet." He hesitated for a few moments before he continued. "If I could find a deck that does, I would."

Yuusuke nodded, little more than the tiniest tilt of his head. Ryou suspected there was something else on his mind and chose not to ask about it. He presumed he knew what it was: Yuusuke knew of a deck he thought Ryou would want to use. It wouldn't be the first time that someone thought that when he brought up his difficulties with a deck.

He wasn't going to utterly rule the chance out, though. Yuusuke hadn't said they hadn't known one another in his previous life. The longer they spent time around one another, the more comfortable Ryou felt around him. That wasn't an experience he'd had with virtually anyone else.

In all truth, he could only remember truly feeling it around Juudai, and even that wasn't to this degree. Most of the time he didn't bother to talk to others because he had no real interest in what they wanted to talk about. He chose silence for the most part around Yuusuke because comfortable quiet flowed between them.

After a few minutes they arrived at Shine Angel's abode. He lived in one of the homes built into the mountainside, one of the highest ones. Most of those villagers who could fly lived up there, making it easier for them to leave and arrive, and harder for non flying folk to get up there.

Ryou knocked, somewhat curious to see the reunion of two brothers. _Brothers_ rang in the deepest depths of his mind, calling to him in a way that he couldn't put into words. The concept of brothers said something that he didn't understand and wanted to, so very much.

From behind the door there came the faintest hint of wings rustling. Ryou had heard it before, whenever he was on guard duty and one of the angels in the guard passed by. He glanced over to see Honest moving closer and stepped out of the way. Let him take the lead; it was his brother, after all. This was far more his meeting than Ryou's.

The door opened; Shine Angel stood there, clear amusement written over his features.

"Brother. I wondered if you'd come to see me." Shine Angel's gaze flicked from one to the other of the three there. "Would you care to enter?"

"Of course." Honest started to say something else, but Shine Angel raised one hand.

"Another time for that." He stepped aside to let them enter. Ryou hadn't ever been here before and glanced around with a small flicker of curiosity.

This place was far different from his own little dwelling. It had three rooms that he could be certain of: two doorways led from where they stood now. All four chairs here luxuriated with soft cushions and small rugs underneath each one. Two sat by a broad window that looked out to one side, giving a view of the far side of the village, coated with rich grass and the orchard where many of those less inclined to the guard's life picked during the proper season. Two others sat near a flawless sphere of warm golden light.

All four walls were paneled in warm white wood, polished to a glowing gleam, with tapestries hung from them. There were rugs on the floor as well, with a similarity of style that suggested the same mind had either designed or woven them all, if not both.

"It's been quite some time, brother," Shine Angel said, turning to look at Honest. "I wondered if you'd somehow been lost yourself in the human world."

"No. There were issues to deal with." Honest's gaze shifted briefly to Yuusuke, who ducked his head for a single moment. "Allow me to introduce you to my master, Fujiwara Yuusuke."

Shine Angel stared at Yuusuke, one golden eyebrow cocked up ever so slightly. "Master?"

"He's my partner, and my friend," Yuusuke said. "He's not my servant."

Shine Angel's lips curved into a vague smile. "So I presumed." He gestured towards the chairs. "Do sit. Would you care to dine with me tonight?"

"What did you have in mind to serve?" Honest asked, moving over to one of the chairs. All four had been exquisitely carved, in such a fashion that anyone with wings or most extra non-human appendages, could seat themselves there. Ryou took one of them as well, finding it quite comfortable. More so than the ones in his own home, in all actuality.

"I have a pot of stew that should be ready in time. There's more than enough for all of us." Shine Angel gestured toward one of the doorways. His gaze hadn't left Yuusuke at all and the smile that played over his lips grew stronger with each moment. Then, he turned his attention to Ryou. "I presume that you still haven't found a deck that suits you?"

"No." Ryou let the single word drop. He offered nothing other than that.

"My condolences. My offer still stands, however. Find the deck that speaks to your heart and I will teach you how to use it."

Yuusuke made a small noise, something that came quite close to a choked gasp. Ryou glanced towards him.

"Is something wrong?"

Yuusuke shook his head, fingers tightening together, his face turned away. "Just something that crossed my mind. That's all." He tilted his head towards Honest, their eyes meeting for a heartbeat. Ryou couldn't tell but he thought Honest looked as amused as he'd ever seen anyone who wasn't outright laughing.

Shine Angel chuckled himself before he addressed Honest. "Of all of the humans you could have pledged yourself to, this isn't one I would have imagined." He slowly regarded Yuusuke. "I would have imagined you choosing a healer of some type, or perhaps a warrior. Not someone like him."

"And why not?" Ryou asked. He didn't care if it weren't his concern. He wanted to know.

Shine Angel's smile grew even wider. "He hasn't mentioned it? And you can't tell?" A soft, amused chuckle. "Your new friend is a shadow mage. A very talented one at that if I judge correctly. And a very powerful one."

Yuusuke's cheeks scorched a deep crimson. He seemed very fascinated by the floor all of a sudden. "That's… another reason I didn't want to stay there on Earth. They don't understand magic there very well and the ability… it's been getting stronger for the last few years."

Ryou nodded. He'd seen a few spellcasters over the years. An angel and a mage of shadows didn't seem that unusual to him. Then again, he knew quite well how little he actually knew about this world and most others.

Shine Angel excused himself, heading to where he'd indicated the food was being cooked. Honest followed him a few moments later, leaving Ryou and Yuusuke alone together.

Ryou said nothing for a handful of moments, considering his options. Above all else he wanted to know his own past, but this seemed somewhat more important for the future.

"A shadow mage?"

"Yes." Yuusuke still would not look at him. "I made some bad decisions when I was younger. I abandoned the people I cared about, who cared about me. It took years before it was all sorted out again. For a while, everything was… good." His fingers flexed for a single heartbeat. "Then other things started happening."

Given what he'd heard from Yuusuke and Juudai already, Ryou had his suspicions on what those other things were. He couldn't call them memories but a strange sort of awareness hung in the very back of his thoughts now, a sensation that he and Yuusuke sat somewhere together before, talking about matters similar to this.

He glanced over to one of the empty chairs, almost expecting that he would see someone else there. Who that someone else might be he wasn't certain but he knew if he saw them, he would know them.

* * *

Honest watched as his brother tended to the bubbling pot of stew. He'd always been a fantastic cook and it looked as if that hadn't changed in the years they'd been apart.

"Why are you here?" He asked quietly, his fingers entwining a small spell of silence. He seldom used magic of any sort, but it would be better if Yuusuke and Ryou did not hear this. Some things only brothers needed to speak of to one another.

"Because I live here. I know you know that."

Honest's eyes narrowed. "Roshan." He seldom spoke his brother's true name. If Roshan chose to go by his card's name in this place, he would honor that, but here it was just the two of them.

Roshan turned away from the stew and towards him. "I told you the truth. I live here. What more do you expect?"

"You didn't when I left for the human world."

"And that's been how long?" Roshan began to search through his shelves for bowls. "Many things can change in that time, dear brother. As in _you_ allying yourself with a mage of shadows. Especially one touched by the power of Darkness."

Honest's wings flicked for a moment. "That ended years ago." He would hear no more about it, either. His master had made up for the errors of his youth.

Roshan made a quiet noise, something to the effect of amused agreement. "I also am here for the sake of Hell Kaiser. Or he who was Hell Kaiser."

"Juudai-sama doesn't want his memories forced back," Honest pointed out quickly. "My master is here only to nudge them if they can be nudged. To see if they can be restored at all."

"How very good of him. But I am not one of his lackeys." Roshan set the bowls onto the table and gave Honest a very stern look. "You know who _I_ serve."

As if Honest could ever forget. Angels of their clan had served the same master for longer than any of them could remember. Few indeed ever left the clanhome to serve anyone else. He'd been one of those few. Clearly his brother wasn't.

"It's time for dinner. Call them, would you?" Roshan requested, settling four steaming bowls on the table. "And have them wash up beforehand."

Honest held back a deep sigh. His brother had always possessed a domestic streak and being here, for whatever purposes both told and untold, did not seem to have changed that at all. "Of course."

He undid the spell and stepped back into the room. Said spell worked both ways, so whatever they'd spoken of in those few minutes remained a mystery. But he trusted that if it were relevant to their mission, then his master would inform him of it when they were in their own home later.

Honest reminded himself he would need to explore the area once his master slept. He'd already detected the presence of demonic energies and while not _all_ demons sought to bring ruin and destruction, he refused to take unnecessary chances. Having a shadow mage for a partner only made him more cautious.

And perhaps he could observe Marufuji Ryou in secret and make his own decisions on what they could do to help him.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I have amusing thoughts for how to tie Shine Angel into my larger headcanons...


	9. Chapter 9

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 9/30|| **Words:** 18,622  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Yubel didn't need to eat food, not like Juudai did. He didn't even need to eat it all that much; he could be as sustained by the Gentle Darkness as Yubel was. But he ate for a multitude of reasons: mostly because he liked doing it, because he thought food tasted good, and because sometimes it was a sort of social obligation.

Such as right now, when he sat at the table next to Command Angel, chatting about how matters were in the area and what might be needed to continue to keep them safe.

Yubel knew quite well that the fact he visited this place regularly had spread out to be common knowledge in the surrounding areas. Most people weren't going to try to attack here. They knew it would be far more trouble than it was worth. He might not live there, but he had reason to return regularly, and anyone who struck here would risk more than the loss of soldiers.

Yubel knew that the reason he returned wasn't here at the moment. Ryou chose to dine elsewhere on occasion, and today was one of those occasions it seemed.

Yubel didn't object. Yubel suspected that he would be spending time with Fujiwara Yuusuke, which might do something for his memories.

 **A risk, but an acceptable one.** At least for others. Yubel would watch to make certain nothing permanent happened - recovering memories could be quite traumatic, especially when they involved death - but other than that, Yubel intended to let nature take its own proper course. At least with Fujiwara there, there would hopefully be fewer chances of anything truly damaging happening. Not only had he developed the gifts of a shadow mage, but he knew quite a bit about memory magic. Such was the nature of Darkness, after all.

Yubel turned their attention back to Juudai for a few moments. **I'll be back. Checking the area.**

They could feel his agreement before they slid away. The bond between them meant that it would be the work of a thought to get back there when the time came. Yubel roamed on occasion, though never very far from Juudai.

After all, if they didn't watch over him, then he would get himself into some sort of trouble. He was better than he had been, but he still needed Yubel. He always would.

But that didn't mean Yubel couldn't and didn't explore when it became necessary.

Now Yubel roamed through the village, searching for anything that would catch their attention.

 **There's something around here.** Yubel wasn't certain of what it was but the faintest hint of wariness flickered in the back of their mind. A hint that there was a presence of some sort, one that needed to be guarded against.

Yubel remained unseen as they searched around, darting upward and down, trying to track down whatever little flicker of wariness it was that alerted them.

 **Nothing.**

Yubel folded their arms over their chest and stared down from one of the highest peaks. This didn't feel right at all. It still wasn't clear enough to them exactly what was wrong in the first place.

 **It's more a sense that something – someone – was here. They might not be now.**

That felt a little better, a little closer to the truth. Whatever it was that they were sensing, it wasn't there now.

 **They could come back later. I'll watch.** At least for as long as they could. Juudai would have to return to Earth soon enough; he had matters to deal with there as well.

Yubel glanced toward one of the homes. An angel lived there; a stronger one than Command Angel. The sense of _angel_ was stronger than just one however.

A single flick of their wings brought them there and they pressed a hand against the wall, tasting the energies that flowed from inside. One sense alone filled them at that and Yubel took a step back, nose twitching in slight distaste before fading back to Juudai.

The moment they did, they could feel Juudai's curious awareness turning toward them, wanting to know what they found out. They shook their head for a brief moment. It would be far better if they told him about it later, when they weren't here.

Juudai's curiosity arose even more at that, but Yubel refused to back down.

 **It's best if we're not here. But it's nothing dangerous.**

If they weren't woven together the way that they were, Yubel suspected that Juudai wouldn't entirely trust what they said. But he could feel that they meant every word that they said.

For now, Yubel let themselves rest. There wasn't any danger here. Whatever it was that watched wasn't there and it wasn't likely they would have left anything behind that could cause damage. As for the angel, that would no more harm Juudai than… than Johan would.

* * *

Traveling took time. That annoyed Chaos Hunter more than she wanted to let on, but it would still be better if she wasn't around the village while the Herald-Haou still lurked there. He would wreck her plans, be it on purpose or otherwise.

It hadn't taken all that long to get to Dark Familiar's current lair, but it was still a few days' travel between there and where Daemon Tamer lived, even with as speedily as Chaos Hunter could – and did – move.

But when she finally tapped on Daemon Tamer's door, it was more than worth all the effort.

"I've been expecting you, Arwyn." Daemon Tamer stepped aside to let her inside. "You haven't been by in too long."

Chaos Hunter allowed very few to use her given name. Daemon Tamer had been one of those for some time now.

"I've had a great deal to take care of, Shideh."

Daemon Tamer told even fewer people what _her_ given name was. Chaos Hunter only spoke it when they were together and no one else was around.

As soon as the door closed, she leaned forward to touch her lips onto Shideh's. Tension flowed out of her as Shideh's arms folded around her.

"Would you tell me what you're doing or is it better kept to yourself?" Shideh murmured, leaning into her. Chaos Hunter breathed in deeply, letting all of her anger vanish for now. She would pick it up again once she left, but there was only room in her heart for certain emotions when she and Shideh were together.

"For now, kept to myself. But..." She at least wanted her lover to be happy for her. "I'll soon avenge my brother."

Shideh nodded, arms tightening in support around her. Chaos Hunter allowed her lover to guide her into the inner chamber, softer and provided with more comfortable furniture than the outer chamber, which was only seen by those who wished to hire Daemon Tamer.

Chaos Hunter had once been one of those. She'd kept herself aloof from all forms of emotions for some time after her brother's death.

Never forgive. Never forget. And one day, avenge.

* * *

Chaos Hunter seldom wished to hire the services of others. Even more seldom was there a need for it. There were few goals that she couldn't achieve by her own efforts.

Ever since Haou's defeat and the disbanding of his army, she'd spent her time wandering the world, trying to adjust to the changes. She'd learned that the brilliant ball of fire in the sky was called _the sun_. She wasn't all that fond of it, having grown up underneath the gentle blue light of the comet, but for reasons unknown, the comet faded with Haou's defeat.

But there were ways she could feel more at home in this changed world and she took the easiest one for now: she walked at night, after the sun set.

Of course, that led to the discovery of the moon and stars, but they weren't the same thing as the sun. They weren't anywhere near as hot, and the light wasn't much different from that of the comet.

She wasn't the only one to take to the night, of course. She'd seen plenty of people who muttered in horrified tones about how someone must have offended whatever gods existed because the sky was on fire for hours and hours at a time.

Chaos Hunter didn't believe in gods. She didn't know why this had happened, so she ignored it as much as she could. She had far better ways to occupy her time, such as searching for the one who murdered her brothers and taking care of herself.

That second one occupied most of her time for now. No one knew where those who'd fought Haou-sama and his people vanished off to, so as annoying as it was, she knew she wouldn't be able to avenge Chaos Sorcerer for a long time to come.

Perhaps not at all. But she refused to accept that entirely.

For now, she entered a tavern, intent on finding the small bit of help she might need to acquire the funds to support herself for some time to come.

The moment she entered the common room, she glanced around, looking for whoever might be who she was looking for. She'd never met a Daemon Tamer before, but she'd heard they were preternaturally beautiful. So far, she saw no one here who met that requirement.

In moments she sat by the fireplace, a mug of well-made beer in one hand, watching the area intently. No one there dared to look back at her. She didn't recognize most of them personally, but none of them looked as if they wanted to approach her regardless.

Hour after hour ticked by, with her mug being filled up whenever she emptied it. She watched herself; it wouldn't be the first time someone attempted to slip a drug into her drink, and she refused to let someone put a knife in her back by her own carelessness.

When she lowered her mug after one long drink, satisfying herself that it remained undrugged, someone sat in the chair across from her. For the first time in her entire life, she thought that she'd met someone who deserved the appellation of mindbogglingly beautiful. Just the hair alone caught her attention, gleaming bright despite the shadows cast by the flickering fire.

"Daemon Tamer?" Chaos Hunter asked, eyes going up and down across the fine form. The other nodded, the slightest tilt of her head.

"And I presume you are Chaos Hunter." Daemon Tamer's voice seemed pitched in such a fashion to tempt even a stone to arousal.

"I am. And I wish to discuss business." Chaos Hunter gladly admired the beauty before her, but business came long before pleasure.

Daemon Tamer tilted her head at that. "What business might that be?"

She laid out what she needed; one of the local small time warlords wanted a demon rival disposed of, and he'd hired her to do so. Said rival hid quite well and after weeks of searching, Chaos Hunter chose to hire assistance.

Such was the manner of their first meeting. It took another week for them to track down and dispose of her employer's demon rival, and she'd gladly paid Daemon Tamer's price when it was over with.

She also paid for them to have dinner together. The week that it took to track their target remained one of the most pleasant of Chaos Hunter's life.

* * *

Now she lay in Shideh's arms, curled up on the soft cushions of the couch, their hair entangled together, her lover's warmth close against her.

"If you succeed, you could stay here, afterward," Shideh murmured, her voice warmer and softer than Chaos Hunter could remember hearing her at any other time. "You won't need to travel as much. Will you?"

Chaos Hunter breathed for a few moments. She didn't feel up to thinking enough to answer most questions, but she'd considered this one before. Enough so she knew what to say.

"I can't say just yet. But I'll think about it." It was, after all, the same answer she'd considered from the first moment that she knew there was a chance at her vengeance.

Shideh nuzzled against the back of her neck. "You always do." There was a hint of chiding there, no more. Chaos Hunter let it go unremarked.

She had plans to make for when she returned to the village and hopefully heard something from Dark Familiar. She would not wait forever for her revenge.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** A little bit of fillery stuff to relax before the next big thing. Also: Arwyn=white, fair (Welsh) and Shideh=bright (Persian).


	10. Chapter 10

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 10/30|| **Words:** 20,709  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Yuusuke tapped on Ryou's door, waiting patiently for his friend to open it. Sometimes these days he had to fight to remember that they weren't going to classes or out shopping or whatever it was they'd done in the years between his return and when Hell Kaiser succumbed to his heart issues. The fact that the door he knocked on wasn't anything like the doors at Duel Academia or Ryou's apartment helped.

There were still moments where if he let his thoughts slip away, he found himself on the verge of mentioning class or the grocery list, however. So far he hadn't slipped. But there could be that day.

Ryou opened the door, nodding in greeting. Yuusuke saw the traveling cloak he'd wrapped around himself.

"Going somewhere?"

"The market. Did you want to come?" Ryou asked, tilting his head a small touch.

Yuusuke blinked in thought before he nodded. Ryou mentioned going to one of the markets and how it would help to know something about the bartering system used there. Whenever he'd had the time since then – it had been days since he'd arrived in the village – he'd worked hard to develop little items that would be useful around here, and for potential trading.

"Let's go." Ryou closed the door and settled a small jewel into a crack in one of the stones that made up his home. Yuusuke had crafted that one himself; it would bar anyone from entering the place while Ryou was gone.

Yuusuke hadn't come over with plans to head out for any length of time, but it only took him a few minutes to nip back to his home and pick up the small items he wanted to deal with. Catching up to Ryou also took little time and the two of them headed out of the village together.

"Where's Honest?" Ryou asked curiously, once the two of them were out of sight of the stockade walls. Yuusuke glanced back for a second.

"Visiting his brother. I gather they have a lot to catch up on." It had been a long time since they'd seen one another, counting from when Honest crossed between dimensions to befriend a very young and very scared little boy.

Ryou nodded. The two of them walked in silence for a short time, until they were in a long stretch of the path where no one could listen in without them being aware of it. Ryou caught Yuusuke's attention, one eyebrow cocked up for a quick moment: a silent question that he knew the answer to.

He knew so much of what Ryou wanted to know, but he asked a question for himself first.

"Have you remembered anything new?"

Ryou gathered his thoughts in silence. "Last night I had a dream. I saw a dragon: a powerful, metallic dragon. I don't remember the name, but I _knew_ it. And it knew me."

"How many heads did it have?" Yuusuke wondered. He wasn't surprised to see the way Ryou looked at him when he asked the question.

"Only one. Why?"

Yuusuke shook his head. "If you're remembering that, then you'll remember the rest of it sooner or later. We can't rush this."

A faint flicker of annoyance crossed through Ryou's eyes but he said nothing to argue the point. Their agreement to have Ryou recover what memories he could on his own before Yuusuke told him everything that he knew remained.

He'd almost forgotten how stubborn Ryou could be, in all fairness. But the last few days reminded him of it vividly. Ryou would drag every scrap of memory that his mind held out of the deepest depths of himself before he truly asked for help, no matter how much he might want it.

 _If he's remembering Cyber Dragon, he might remember more._ He'd spoken that first day of a point that could be used to spring forward to other memories. His Cyber deck had always been important to Ryou. It wasn't a surprise that was one of the first to return.

"Did you just dream about that? The dragon?" Yuusuke had to remind himself not to use the name. He had to remind himself of quite a few things now that he lived near to Ryou again.

 _I think I want him to remember as much as he wants to remember._ It would make talking to him so much easier.

"I was… fighting someone, I think." Ryou's eyes fell to his left arm before his gaze rose again. "I don't remember it very well. But it was very familiar. As if I'd done it before."

Yuusuke considered for a heartbeat before he spoke. "You have. Many, many times." How often had he seen Ryou dueling with that deck? Then again with the deck he'd built after his return? Even he couldn't remember. Only that it had been so much, and no matter what deck he used, Ryou would always be amazing when he stood against an opponent as strong or stronger than he was.

Ryou turned his look toward the road ahead of them. Yuusuke recalled seeing that look on his face many times before, always when he searched for some answer that he didn't have.

"I've had a few other dreams. I don't remember them all in any real detail. But I think I lived in a palace once. Or something very like a palace."

Yuusuke didn't have to think about that. "It wasn't a palace. It was where we went to school. We were both in the highest ranked dorm." His lips curved briefly. "Some people would call it a palace, though." Matters had changed since their day, but Obelisk Blue being the most impressive of the three dorms hadn't.

Ryou fell back into silence for a brief span of time. Yuusuke made up his mind.

"It's called Duel Academia. There are three dorms: Osiris Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue. Things are different now, but when we were there, Osiris Red was considered the least of the dorms, and Obelisk Blue the greatest."

He chose his words with care. Ryou wanted to remember on his own, at least as much as he could, but Yuusuke wasn't talking about _his_ past. He was talking about a place he'd been as a teenager. The fact it happened to be a place Ryou had also been was irrelevant at the moment.

He wasn't at all surprised to see Ryou drinking in every single word.

* * *

Ryou wanted to think that hearing about this unlocked other memories. Yuusuke spoke of dorm buildings, of lessons and teachers, of adventures that the two of them and someone else – he barely mentioned there was a third to their group and he wouldn't say the name but what he'd said made it clear regardless – experienced.

Unfortunately, the stories couldn't last forever. Yuusuke, it seemed, had barely spent a year there before something happened to him. What it was he refused to say in detail, and Ryou suspected he would have to bring up those other memories all on his own.

He'd always expected no less. He wanted to talk to someone who knew him and his past and could tell him of who he'd been in a matter of moments. But now that he'd met someone who could do that to some extent, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to regain himself on his own, at least as much as he could.

"How long will it take to get there?" Yuusuke asked a short time after he'd reached the end of his brief collection of tales.

"We'll be there tomorrow. It's not that far." At least not by the standards of those who had to walk. Those who could fly would have made it that very afternoon. Fly or ride or do something that wasn't walking.

Yuusuke nodded; he didn't look very happy about it. He'd mentioned other means of transportation that his world had, and they did sound as if they would be much faster than this. Some of them conjured up images that he wasn't certain of, but which did feel far more familiar than he thought they had a right to be.

For the moment, however, he let those slip to the back of his mind. They'd already walked for hours, and it was time for lunch. Ryou chose a mossy rock by the side of the path, near a trickling stream, and settled down there, Yuusuke joining him.

"I stop here when I'm going to the market," he said as he dug into his bag for the food he'd packed. "I like it."

It was one of the rare places he'd ever encountered where he felt as if he'd seen it before. Every now and then his attention strayed to the far side of the stream and he often wondered what there could be over there. He'd never gone there; he preferred sticking to the trip and not wasting time. But there were several times he found himself tempted to make a trip that way, just to see what might be there.

That day would not be today. Today he intended to get some of the better teas available, as well as check for dueling cards – again, though he refused to expect anything to catch his attention. The more he'd spoken with Yuusuke, and a few words dropped by both Honest and Shine Angel, the more he suspected that he'd had a deck before, and for whatever reason, it hadn't crossed over with him.

Which meant the best person he could ask about it would be Juudai. If anyone knew where his deck had ended up, it could very well be him.

Perhaps when Juudai turned up again, he would ask about it. Juudai departed their world the night that he'd brought Yuusuke there. He'd never said when he'd return, but Ryou knew he would, sooner or later. He would be patient. It wasn't as if he had many options.

Yuusuke nibbled on the small loaf of bread Ryou gave him, his gaze roaming all around, fascinated as Ryou himself had been on his own first trip here. He said nothing, his mouth full, but the longer he looked, the more hints of worry slid into his expression.

Ryou glanced around as well, not surprised to feel a faint hint of wariness creeping up through his shoulders.

"Someone's watching," he murmured, trying to get some sort of feel on where the sensation came from. He'd chosen this place not just for the view but for the fact that grass spread out in every direction from here. The nearest trees were too far away for anyone to lurk in there and be able to hear them talk, not unless they yelled at the top of their lungs. That wasn't an option for either of them.

Yuusuke nodded, his own wariness not having eased for a moment. He closed his eyes and his lips moved, whatever he said too low for Ryou to hear. Ryou had seen him doing this before over the last few days: this was shadow magic. There were shadows almost everywhere, to some degree or other.

A shadow mage, such as Yuusuke, could learn a great deal from those shadows.

Ryou waited. He tried hard not to look as if he were especially interested in anything, glancing up the path that led to the market. He didn't want to be interrupted. It _annoyed_ him if he were interrupted.

Yuusuke's fingers brushed against the back of his hand, drawing his attention back there. He still said nothing, but he glanced over to the far side of the stream. Ryou checked out the area, gaze eventually coming to rest on a rock on that side. It was about as big as the one they were sitting on, and as far as he could tell, it was just a rock, nothing more.

But he trusted Yuusuke's magic and more, he trusted Yuusuke himself.

"I've never been over there," he said. "I plan to one day, but not today." Ryou tilted his head back to check the position of the sun. "I think it's time to go."

Whatever was over there wouldn't be able to leave while they were there, and unless it could become invisible, they might be able to see it when it did. Ryou found himself anticipating whatever would happen. Whatever it was, it would be something interesting, and perhaps he could even learn a few more points about what had been his life before.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I am having far more fun with this than you can imagine.


	11. Chapter 11

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 11/30|| **Words:** 22,772  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Juudai stepped out of the shadows, looked around, blinked, and waved at the three people, two dogs, and a bird staring at him.

"Hi! I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

Juudai didn't wait for an answer. He just strolled off down the street, knowing they would wave off what they'd seen. People usually did.

 **They won't always.**

He smiled toward Yubel. _They will for now. People don't come out of shadows, do they? Normally, I mean. So they'll decide they saw something else or pretend they never saw it at all._

Yubel didn't answer. They'd had this argument before. He really did prefer coming out where most people couldn't see him, but even after all these years, he couldn't pinpoint it as well as he would have liked to.

But now he had something else to think about as he headed down, working on getting himself oriented. Once he'd decided he'd arrived in Domino City – not all that far from the Kame Game Shop, really, he would have to drop in and see if Yuugi-san was there – he dug his phone out of his pocket and checked his messages.

Most of them he expected. A few wrong numbers, Manjoume blistering him out because he hadn't shown up to a duel – Jim reminding him that he'd promised to come and visit over the next holidays – then Shou.

Juudai listened to the message once and then again, his heart pattering faster before he breathed in enough to relax.

"I should have known," he muttered, carefully putting the phone away.

 **You'll have to tell him.** Yubel advised. Juudai could feel something that might have been the edges of a smile tugging on his lips. The first year or so after Kaiser's… departure… Yubel insisted on not letting anyone know about where he lived now. They'd mellowed on that some with the passage of time.

He glanced around again. He knew the main reason he'd come back here today had been to talk to Johan, to tell him what Yubel already told him about what they'd picked up in the village.

"We can take another trip, can't we?" Juudai asked, eyes darting about as he searched for a patch of shadow thick enough to do what he needed to do.

He couldn't see Yubel roll their eyes but he could feel it all the same.

 **Of course we can. But Johan needs to know this as well.**

Juudai wondered for a moment how many secrets he actually kept from people. There were far more than he could really think about, and some he wouldn't ever let on to anyone, no matter what.

But at least he could pass these on and that would be a little less that he had to worry about. Or more, just in a different way.

The biggest, deepest patch of shadow that he saw turned out to be cast by the Kame Game Shop itself. Juudai observed it for a few moments, still wishing that he had the time to go inside and say hello. It had been months since he'd visited Yuugi-san and he missed his friend.

 **Another time.**

Yubel was right. As much as he wished they weren't at times.

 **I'm always right.**

Of course they were. He stuck his mental tongue out at them, stepped into the shadow of the store, and stepped out again two doors down from Shou's apartment, a trip that would have taken a day and a half by foot and an hour or so if he'd bothered with trains.

Being him had some fun advantages, really.

Juudai made his way to the door. He could have emerged inside of it, but when it came to his friends, he preferred knocking sometimes. Unless he had something else on his mind and just didn't bother to observe the niceties.

He didn't have a chance to knock this time. The door swung open and Shou stood there. He'd grown several inches after graduation. He wouldn't ever be as tall as his brother, but he hovered around average height. Sometimes Juudai couldn't help but be surprised that his old friend looked like he'd just gotten repackaged a little bigger.

Shou blinked at him for a heartbeat or two before he flung his arms around Juudai and hugged him.

"Aniki! You came!"

"Of course I did!" Juudai ruffled Shou's hair, not failing to grin, that old friendship warming him from the inside out. "Did you really think I wouldn't?"

"I wasn't expecting you this soon." Shou stepped back enough to give him a stern look. "I thought you might stay away for another month or so."

It wouldn't have been the first time if he did, and Juudai knew it. His travels took him wherever he was needed. Sometimes he didn't set foot back on Earth soil for weeks or months at a time.

Once he hadn't been able to make it home for a month shy of a year. His voicemail box had been stuffed to the gills.

Shou tugged him towards the apartment door. "We should probably talk inside," he said, casting a glance around. Juudai didn't protest, though he was a touch curious now.

"Were you going out?" He indicated the jacket Shou had on. Shou shook his head.

"Nothing that I can't postpone." He didn't quite push Juudai inside, but he shifted from foot to foot, glancing up and down and all around as if worried someone might step out of thin air – someone who wasn't Juudai.

No sooner had Juudai crossed the threshold and Shou shut the door, his former roommate turned to look him directly in the eyes. Juudai didn't think that he'd ever seen Shou looking so serious or so hopeful before.

All Shou's message said was that there was something they should talk about. Only one thing came to mind that Juudai thought Shou would really _want_ to talk about with such urgency.

"My brother's alive, isn't he? Somehow? And you know where he is."

One thing Juudai could say for Shou right now, he got down to the absolute point. He managed a small smile. He wasn't sure where it came from, only that it was there when he needed it.

"You're right. We do need to talk."

* * *

High above the plains she circled, metallic wings gleaming in the brilliant light of the sun. She couldn't hear what they talked about down there, but she didn't need to. She just wanted to know where they were.

There'd never been a harpy born who couldn't find their prey, and once found, never lost again.

Her claws flexed. She wanted to swoop down and take him away, drag him to the others, let them all rejoice in him having been found. But that wasn't possible. Not yet, at any rate.

She spun and darted ahead, too quick for the eye to follow, too high to resemble anything but a bird crossing the noon sky. It would take someone else in the air to recognize her for what she was, and those below stood no chance at all.

When she dropped down again, it was to stand in front of a group of warriors, each clad in identical armor, but one standing in the front, the marks of a captain on her helmet.

"Cyber Harpie. Report." She spoke as soon as the harpy's talons gripped onto the rock she'd chosen for a perch. Not the best of perches, but the trees here were too thick for her purposes right now. They could be useful later, though.

"I saw him," Cyber Harpie declared, eyes burning bright at the memory. "I _saw_ him."

"Where was he?" The questions rose up from the gathered warriors rapidly. "What's he like? Are you sure?"

The captain gestured and the questions died at once. Cyber Harpie gathered herself.

"I couldn't get close enough to see his face, but he and a traveling companion are on the way to the market town this way." She tilted her head towards the road they stood in formation near. "I didn't dare get close enough to hear them or to feel his effect."

Soft murmurs of disappointment whispered among them, which were dispelled at once by another abrupt gesture from the captain.

"You're certain it's him, though?"

Cyber Harpie nodded, talons slicing at the stone beneath her. "You'll see it for yourself and you can get closer than I can."

"How can you be so certain?" One of the sergeants wanted to know. "If you couldn't get close enough to feel his effect or even see his face, are you sure it's him? We don't dare make a mistake."

Cyber Harpie snarled, loathing being accused of falsehood. "He's the one we're searching for. The Kaiser who will bring us strength."

The captain cleared her throat. "We'll know for certain when we cross paths with him. If he's not, we'll search again."

"We don't have that much time, captain," the sergeant pointed out. "If we make a mistake with him, we'll not have enough time to find the true one."

"We have time. Not much of it, but enough." The captain drew herself up, turning to look down the winding trail. "We wait until they return, however."

Protests at once sprang up, the sergeant's voice chief among them. But the captain again silenced them with a look.

"They may be alert now, but when they return, they'll be tired and more likely to let the guard down. Then we'll take them."

"Why both of them" The sergeant asked, frowning. "We only need the Kaiser."

Cyber Harpie raised a claw. "I wasn't close enough to see much, but I could feel something. His companion is a shadow mage."

The captain nodded, as if she'd expected that all along. "Because a shadow mage's help could be very useful in this war. Now, clear off and get marching. We're going to set up camp back there." She nodded towards the mountains before she turned back to Cyber Harpie. "Go to the market town. See if you can keep tracking them there and alert me if anything else we should know turns up."

Cyber Harpie took to the skies without another word. When her captain ordered, she obeyed. Plus, she looked forward to exploring the market town and seeing what could be found there. She had a few connections there: there were Amazons who she'd chatted with on previous visits who would gladly trade news for interesting items she possessed.

That would require a bit of backflying, though. Her precious cache of gems lay hidden where only she could find it. But she had time. The Kaiser and the magician wouldn't get to the town until the following day and she could make the trip ever so much faster.

* * *

He scrambled along after them, keeping himself as closely pressed to the ground as he could, keeping upwind to ensure they neither saw nor heard or scented him. He'd spent a great deal of his life spying and surviving and he wasn't going to fail because of humans.

Or a human and a spirit. They couldn't scent him – dull human senses the lot of them, even the spirit – but he could pick up a great deal from their scents, and he could tell the difference between the two easily enough.

Dark Familiar made certain that he wouldn't be seen, as he did every time he watched them, and peeked up out of the tall grass. He'd done this many times since he'd caught up to them and even when they'd looked in his direction he hadn't been seen.

Silly, useless things. He knew the stories; he'd known that this one called the Kaiser carried the reputation of having killed Haou in the old days. Even if he hadn't done it – and he hadn't, Dark Familiar had seen that duel and he knew the human who did the deed died in the doing – he was still a formidable warrior and not one that Dark Familiar wanted to face.

 _Why can't she just let things go? It's been years. Mourn the dead and move on. Find a new path._ That's what he'd done. But Chaos Hunter insisted on her revenge and she'd dragged him into this.

She'd regret it all. He didn't doubt that for a moment. All he could do was hope that he wouldn't end up regretting it too.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Do you know how hard it is to find cards that involve 'Cyber' in the title and yet Ryou or Asuka didn't play them?


	12. Chapter 12

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 12/30|| **Words:** 24,800  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Electricity flowed through him, setting his blood on fire, searing every bone and cell within him. He wanted to scream, but if it were in pain or pleasure, he had no idea.

His mouth opened and no sound came from his throat at all. He strained with every ounce of his strength, but nothing happened. Nothing at all.

He couldn't see what stood on the other side of the battlefield, but he knew there was someone there. There was only darkness, a blankness that he couldn't see through despite how hard he tried.

Where was he? Where was …

He didn't know. He didn't know who was there or should be there, only that they _weren't_ there, and he stood alone, the electricity arcing through him over and over.

Ryou's eyes opened and he stared up mindlessly for a few seconds at the star-strewn skies overhead. He dragged in a long and slow breath, fingers flexing, trying to remember what happened. It took a few moments, mostly involving turning his head to see a flickering fire, and on the other side of it was Yuusuke, sound asleep.

They were encircled by some sort of warding spell that Yuusuke set before they settled down to rest. Normally Ryou lost a half-night's sleep or so when he stayed here, not allowing himself to rest all the way. Having this particular companion made it a little better.

Ryou pushed himself up to his feet and made his way over to the fire, settling next to it. It took several long minutes for him to get his breathing settled again. He stared into the fire, trying to remember everything that he dreamed.

He always tried to remember his dreams. What little knowledge he had from his past he could trace back to them in some fashion or other, at least what Fujiwara Yuusuke hadn't told him or what tiny bits hadn't been dragged ever so slowly out of Juudai.

 _Something hurt me. I hurt them back._ He couldn't deny that, even if he'd wanted to. He'd done it willingly and gladly and he thought if he knew everything and could do it again, then he would have.

The eastern horizon began to fade closer to the rose-pink light of dawn. Ryou continued to stare into the fire, though he couldn't drag any more memories from the depths of his mind.

"Ryou?" Yuusuke settled down across from him. "Are you all right? Did something happen?"

Ryou raised his head. "I had a dream." He struggled to find the words, wanting a way to convey how much the memories hurt, and how much they felt good at the same time.

Yuusuke listened without saying a word until Ryou finally fell silent. What he said then wasn't quite what Ryou expected.

"I only heard about that second hand. It was while I was… away. I met you again after all of that." He paused for a few moments of breath. "When I first knew you, you believed completely in dueling with respect. That was all. But something changed while I was away and you believed in other things later. When I met you again, it was more of a balance between those things." His fingers pressed at one of the spare branches for the fire. "Maybe you can ask someone else later."

A memory, or a memory of a memory, a flicker of bright blue eyes, ghosted through Ryou's mind a heartbeat later, fading before he could put a name to it. He dismissed the idea of trying to track the memory down, turning his thoughts instead to the dream itself and to the rest of their trip to the market town.

"We should get there a little after noon if we keep going," Ryou said, reaching into his bag to dig out what he'd set aside for breakfast. "We can get a place to stay at one of the inns there."

Yuusuke nodded, searching in his own bag for whatever he'd brought along. Neither of them brought up anything else as they got started on their day, chewing through breakfast and packing up afterward.

The ghosts of Ryou's dream hung in the back of his mind as they headed down the pathway again. He could feel the pain that scorched along his flesh, even when he couldn't _feel_ it.

In front of them, the ground exploded without any warning, and both Ryou and Yuusuke stopped where they were. A cruel laugh echoed all around.

"Going to the market? I _don't_ think so!"

Ryou raised his head, checking for any sign of who this might be. A quick few moments of searching revealed a shape hidden not all that far from the road. His eyes narrowed.

"Get out of our way." They'd come too far and were far too close to let some random mugger get in their way. Besides, the way that this stranger's energy thrummed against his skin annoyed him.

He stepped out of the woods, strolling towards them as if he thought a red carpet unrolled at his feet. He looked human in almost every respect, with silver-blue hair and eyes. Tight-fitting black leather wrapped all around his chest, stomach, and down to his knees. From his shoulders to his fingers and his knees to his feet, bronzed skin gleamed in the early morning sun.

"Lightning Punisher," Yuusuke said, giving the newcomer a careful look. "What are you doing here?"

He cast a quick, careful look towards Ryou, not waiting for an answer before he added, "He's a Level 7 monster. Dark Attribute, Thunder type." He shook his head. "And pretty powerful."

"That I am. Are you going to hand over your valuables or do I just char you to ashes and take it from your corpses?"

Ryou didn't move an inch as he stared back at Lightning Punisher. He'd never heard of him before, not even a faint flicker of memory.

"I think you need to remove yourself. We have places we're going and I'd rather not be any later than we have to be."

He could feel the whisper of shadow magic against his skin, different from the breath of Lightning Punisher's electricity, warmer and far more comforting. Yuusuke would be ready to defend them if he had to.

But Ryou could feel something, something that stirred in the very deepest parts of himself, especially as Yuusuke spoke again.

"Under the right circumstances, Lightning Punisher can target and destroy any card on the field. That would probably count as us. Or..." His voice trailed off but Ryou could guess what he meant by it.

 _It would count as me._ There were three of them there, and Yuusuke wasn't a spirit of any sort, regardless of his ability with magic.

But he wasn't afraid. He stared at Lightning Punisher before he stepped closer.

"Are you going to get out of our way?" Part of Ryou did want a deck right now. He could defend himself with a deck.

 _I don't need a deck. He can't hurt me._ Ryou could not have said why he was so certain of this. It wasn't even the first time this sort of awareness intruded itself on him, but it was the first time that he'd felt it so very strongly.

Lightning Punisher could target to destroy. But Ryou would not be destroyed.

Lightning Punisher glared at the both of them as if they'd somehow personally offended him. He raised both hands above his head, lightning crackling around his fingers.

"You're going to regret this!" He snarled. "I'm going to get rid of you! You're going to be nothing but dust when I'm done!"

Ryou offered a smile, a slash of amusement that bubbled up from the deepest part of himself. "Give it your best shot."

Lightning slashed down from the Punisher's hands, wrapping all around Ryou. It sizzled across his skin and seared through his blood, setting it all aflame, within and without.

It was worse than he'd felt in the dream, because it wasn't a dream. This was real life, this was his life, and he couldn't move a muscle even if he'd wanted to.

He didn't want to. Not for a moment. The lightning seared and crackled and he threw his head back and laughed, soaking up the power down to the very core of his soul.

Lightning Punisher stared at him, his own eyes crackling with power. "What do you think you're doing? Stop! _Die_!"

Ryou smiled, licking his lips, enjoying the taste of the lightning. "I've already done that. I wasn't all that fond of it then and I have no intentions of doing it again."

Lightning Punisher's eyes widened at that. Then he darted forward, hands wrapping around Ryou's arms, and the lightning grew even stronger, raining down in burning, slashing bolts that tore into his coat and sizzled against his skin.

And Ryou accepted it all. Each strike brought another crack of memory with it, clearer each time.

The underground dueling circuit.

The rage that coursed through him for the first time that night.

Fighting against Inukai.

Fighting against many, many other duelists, with the shock collars he'd come to take for his own.

Not every memory came. He could feel there were some, even connected to the pain and the shock collars, that still lay out of his reach, but they would come in good time. What he did know, without a shadow of a doubt, was the change in his beliefs that Yuusuke spoke of.

 _I believed in respect. Then I believed in power._ And in the end, he'd believed in both of them, because he had them both. And he still did.

He laughed again, the sound ringing as it never had before, as he pushed back against Lightning Punisher.

"You'll have to do better than that," he told his attacker. "But I don't think that you can."

Lightning Punisher stared at him, hands trying to tighten, trying to throw down more lightning and more pain, and not doing a very good job of it. "How – how can you do that? Why aren't you _hurting_?"

"All pain does is remind me that I'm alive in the first place," Ryou said, remembering words he'd spoken to – someone. He couldn't remember who, but he knew those words. "You can't kill me."

Lightning Punisher's hands dropped and he stepped back, the bolts faltering and ceasing. He shook his head as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"What are you…? Who are you?"

Yuusuke stepped up beside him. Wherever the lightning went when it didn't hurt him, Yuusuke remained unharmed. He smiled a brief little smile.

"He's Hell Kaiser."

Lightning Punisher stumbled back, words choking in his throat, before he scrambled away as fast as he could get his feet to move. In moments he was out of sight, not even a footprint left behind.

Yuusuke turned to Ryou. "I think it's time we got going again."

Ryou drew in a breath. Where he'd been hit with the lightning hurt in the way of pain, but the pain didn't _matter_. It told him that he lived.

It told him that what he'd done before echoed in his skin and in his blood and in his bones even now. He was who he had been, and he was who he was becoming.

They kept on walking down the road. The market wasn't going to wait on them.

* * *

He would have to explain Ryou's nickname to him, and probably would do it once they were at the market town. But for now, Ryou seemed to have other thoughts on his mind and didn't ask as they walked along.

Yuusuke let Ryou take several steps ahead, not bothering to catch up. Then he slipped a notepad and pen out of his pocket and wrote a memo to himself.

 _President Pegasus was right. Better to use this than a tablet. I don't know where I could recharge one of those here._

He glanced at the note before he closed the pad and put it away again. It looked right. Even more so, it felt right.

 **Cannot be targeted by card effects that destroy cards.**

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Ryou does have a reputation in Dark World, even if he's no longer aware of it. And stories grow greater with the telling.

Two points: Lightning Punisher has an attack of twenty-six hundred. His effect cannot activate until a chain of effects with three or more links evolves. He's also never faced a guy who ate shocks for breakfast even _before_ he died and revived.

Second, Ryou has three effects as a spirit. He is a high-level spirit, of course, with a high attack. I've hinted at one effect with the Cyber people wanting him. Now you see the second effect. The third will be revealed by the end of the story.


	13. Chapter 13

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 13/30|| **Words:** 26,880  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Cyber Harpie touched down on the landing field that spread out on the far side of the market town. She didn't stay there for more than a few moments; that was part of the rules. Those who flew in had to clear off to make way for new fliers landing. Flying in the town itself was also prohibited, mostly for reasons she'd never bothered to look into.

She wasn't bothered by that, though. She wasn't nearly as good at walking as she was at flying, but she made her way through the area, searching for wherever she could find anyone that she knew. There had to be someone; Amazons frequented the place with many different items to sell, most of which harpies – and those who would buy from harpies – would put to good use.

The issue there was arriving at the market during one of those times when the Amazons were there. It wasn't always as easy as she would like for it to be.

Making her way through the market reminded her of how difficult it would be to track her true targets once they arrived there. Without being able to fly, she would have to trundle along behind them in the crowds, which consisted of far more people than Cyber Harpie liked seeing in one place at the same time.

 _Even the platoon isn't this big and I know she gathered up all that she could find._

But here there were hundreds of people, wandering this way and that, talking at the top of their lungs, with food vendors filling the air with scents, some of which enticed her appetite and thirst – she stopped at one such to trade a small polished stone for a wooden cup of fruit-flavored water, draining it to the dregs and having it refilled to take with her – musicians joined in with instruments and voices, while jesters of many kinds chattered and tossed balls and amused themselves and all who would stop to watch them.

Cyber Harpie stopped to finish her drink, taking several steps to the side to locate a small and quiet place to take a few breaths in while doing so. Staying here for too long set her off in ways she didn't dare let wander free right now.

 _Now, who is likely to be here today?_ Not the furmakers, they would be too busy hunting their prey and working on the results of previous hunts. Winemakers were possible but not as likely as she would have preferred. Hunters certainly came to mind and she wouldn't have been surprised at all to see them with haunches of meat hanging anywhere near the butchers.

There were other options as well: jewelers and smiths, weavers, spinners, and craftsfolk of every type and profession. Cyber Harpie spent her time when she wasn't spying gathering precious items wherever they could be found. She didn't know everything about what the cycle of making things was like.

 _I'll just look around._ It most certainly wouldn't be the first time that she'd done this and she knew it would also not be her last.

She struck off towards the armorers' area. Even if there weren't any Amazons that she knew there, it would be fascinating to see what new items those who were there had with them. She could always use new greaves.

Cyber Harpie arrived at the market city in the mid-afternoon. As the sun began to slip towards the western horizon, she carried new greaves, metal polish, and a new file for her claws. Now she made her way towards the nearest inn that cater to one of her people. She would find Amazons in the morning; right now she wanted to eat and rest.

She'd barely crossed into the inn when an unexpected but extremely welcome voice rose in greeting.

"Where have you been hiding yourself all this time?" The person who called would have been known as Amazoness Curse Master by those who only knew her by the card and not by her name. Cyber Harpie whirled on one claw and fluttered over to her, tossing her purchases onto the empty chair.

"Xoana! What are you doing here? I didn't think you came."

Xoana shrugged her shoulders. "The Queen needed someone to run errands for her and I was the only one available to come here. But I don't mind." She tapped a heavy pouch at her waist. "I made quite a few good bargains of my own."

Cyber Harpie settled onto the perch nearest to her old friend. "Would you be averse to making another one?" A small sparkling idea had just leaped into existence in her head, and Cyber Harpie couldn't help but want to put it to use. She was, after all, a harpie, and snatching from other people came as second nature to her. All that made this different would be that she would use someone else's hands to do the snatching.

Xoana tendered her a suspicious glance before waving one hand to the worker at the bar. "A glass of your best for each of us!" She declared before she turned back to Cyber Harpie. "We can discuss business tomorrow. That's soon enough, isn't it?"

"It is." Cyber Harpie settled herself, looking forward to a splendid evening, hopefully followed by an even more splendid tomorrow.

* * *

Honest could feel the worry dripping off of his master. He couldn't read Yuusuke's mind – that wasn't one of his gifts – but since they'd been reunited, he'd found himself far more capable of reading Yuusuke's moods.

 _I wish I could read his mind._ Doing so would make deciding what to do next much easier. He knew Yuusuke was on a trip with Ryou to the market town and he thought they would be all right together. If anything truly damaging came up, he would be able to get there in moments. And yet there was still that worry.

"What concerns you now, brother?" Roshan asked, one finely carved eyebrow raising upward. "You lose track of what you're saying so easily."

Honest tightened his fingers. "Something worries my master. And that worries me."

"I see." Roshan flicked one wing carelessly. "I presume there's also been no word yet from the Herald?"

"He hasn't been gone all that long. And he has lots of people that he checks up on."

Roshan made a quiet noise of commiseration. "I thought of returning to the clanhome for a visit while they're away. Would you care to return with me?" He picked up a cup and toyed with it for a few moments. "I'll have to make arrangements for my duties to be covered here, of course. But there's little I can do for Marufuji Ryou while he's not here, so I had best take care of personal matters while I can."

Honest could not say that he entirely trusted every word that came out of his brother's mouth. He trusted Roshan – mostly – but at the same time, he knew where Roshan's loyalty truly lay. He gave the other a very stern look.

"You've yet to tell me why you seek to help him in the first place. If he serves a side, it isn't the one _you_ serve."

Roshan waved a hand as carelessly as he could. "I know. I couldn't _not_ know. But call it..." He hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Would you believe me if I said it was a whim?"

"No."

Roshan's lips quirked for one brief moment. "I didn't think so."

Honest regarded his brother, wanting an answer and not at all certain that he would get one. Roshan very seldom told anyone why he did anything. He simply did it and let others figure out his reasoning. If he'd ever said more than the most confusing of things, Honest didn't know about it.

As the long moments stretched on into an uncomfortable silence, Roshan leaned forward. "You didn't answer me. Do you want to return to the clanhome? I'm going, whether you are or not." He tilted back now. "But what would you do here by yourself?"

Honest's lips thinned in thought. So much as he disliked the thought of leaving without letting his master know, Roshan – as always – spoke the annoying and unwanted truth. He could go to Yuusuke and accompany them on their journey, but he'd long since accepted that there were times when people needed to be alone together for whatever their reasons were. Exploring the village would offer some interest, but Roshan had already shown them around, and there wasn't much that would catch his interest on his own.

"Very well." He would at least leave a message for Yuusuke, should he and Ryou return first. "When are you leaving?"

Roshan made a point of looking out the window. "Dawn. Do be ready, brother."

Honest nodded. That would give him plenty of time to get matters organized. It really had been many years since he'd entered the clanhome and he looked forward to seeing some of his old friends.

He did hope that they would look forward to seeing him as well.

* * *

Chaos Hunter made her way back to the village, most of her attention returned to the proper duty of her revenge, but still the occasional flicker of thoughts lingering on Daemon Tamer.

 _Dark Familiar had best have some information for me soon._ She didn't believe that he would have any now. It was far too soon; at best he would have located the Kaiser and spent some time tracking him.

She took the long way around to the village, skirting some of the territory that had once been part of Haou's realm in the long ago. She spied several moss-covered ruins, with marks of fire hidden where only the eyes of someone who knew they were there could see them.

 _I remember this place._ Chaos Hunter smiled at the sight. She'd almost forgotten it until now. Here there had once been a glorious city, one of the few to survive Brron's reign.

It hadn't survived Haou's. The city dared to stand against him, proclaiming their independence and fierceness. The defenders even repelled several of Haou's attempts to crush them. She'd stood among the army in those days and hated having to fall back.

But Haou would not be resisted forever. He'd not attended the early battles, having something else occupying his attention in those days. She didn't know what it was, only that it consumed him entirely.

As the war raged on, most people presumed that his attention remained absorbed either by battle in other areas or the early stages of creating Super Fusion. She'd never wasted her energy on such speculations, seeking instead ways to either bring down the city – and thus bring fame and honor to herself – or to do anything else that would accomplish said goals.

 _And then he was there. Without any warning._ She could never forget that moment, when he'd stood facing down the city's greatest warriors, not even having his duel disk out.

He hadn't needed it. He'd brought down the city walls without it, and then the entire army swept in after him, raging throughout the streets, bringing fire and weapons and magic against those who defied their master.

Ah, those had indeed been the days. She couldn't even remember how many perished in that battle. Or battles would be more accurate; it had taken nearly a week to crush every defender in the city and grind it down to little more than dust and ash. Those who survived were taken to Haou's dungeons, and there hadn't been many of those in the first place.

 _And now look at what he's become._ Chaos Hunter's lip curled at the thought. She would avoid him still; regardless of how he chose to use that power, he still had it. She'd heard from others about the death of Guardian Baou, how he'd fallen against Haou _after_ the boy discarded his armor and his kingdom.

And now he was a man full grown, experienced in his power, and stronger than she'd seen before. She would keep away from him, she reminded herself. Her revenge centered on Hell Kaiser, as it always had. How could anyone deny her the death of the one who slew her brother?

But as she wandered through the ruins, the faintest hint of someone watching her crept up her spine, and she hurried her steps. The sooner she returned to safety, the better she would like it.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Anyone want to see the full story of the city's defense and fall? There's so much more Chaos Hunter doesn't know about what happened.


	14. Chapter 14

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 14/30|| **Words:** 28,916  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Ryou and Yuusuke paused on the top of the hill just outside the market town. Yuusuke glanced around, cautious as he knew he should be. After that earlier encounter, he wanted to make certain that no one else interrupted them.

 _So far, so good._ Whether the attack had been a simple attempted theft or hidden attempted murder, he wasn't sure. At least no one seemed inclined to repeat it for now.

"Let's go," Ryou said, already heading down the hillside. "The sooner we get a place to stow our gear the better."

Yuusuke saw no reason to argue that. His possessions weren't all that heavy but after carrying them as long as he had, he could use somewhere to put them and sit down.

"It's very busy," he observed as they got closer. "What are the odds that there will be room for us?"

"Very good." Ryou nodded towards one area of the town, mostly made up of permanent buildings as opposed to the tents and stalls that comprised the rest of it. "That's where the inns are. They have different types for different visitors and I've never seen them entirely full."

That did ease a bit of Yuusuke's worries. Those had crept up on him little by little as they'd walked. Part of his mission here remain not just stirring up Ryou's old memories, but to discover what he was made of now. He'd uncovered at least one effect, but there had to be more.

Ryou was Ryou, the Hell Kaiser. There wasn't any way that he _wasn't_ high level and strong. All that remained would be finding out all the proper details and getting them to Pegasus so the card could be crafted.

This wouldn't even be Yuusuke's first time trying to uncover the secrets of a spirit. It was, of course, the first time that he'd done so when he knew the spirit personally and wasn't yet ready to tell the spirit what he was there for in the first place.

 _I don't think he'd mind._ At least he hoped not. These were things Ryou would most likely want to know about himself as well. But Yuusuke thought it would be best if they learned it the long and slow way.

The closer that they got to the town, the more the noise of it he could hear. There were people everywhere, even if they weren't humans, chatting at the top of their lungs, bargaining, calling and talking to one another. Music trilled up from all over, people singing and instruments as well. He recognized a lot of them from having studied dueling so much of his life, though this had to be the first time he'd seen many of them in the flesh.

"Do you know anyone here?" Yuusuke wondered. Ryou had said that he'd been there before.

"A few. Mostly the tea vendors. It's what I come here for most often." A thoughtful tone entered his voice. "I usually check out the cards as well."

Yuusuke nodded. "Let's do that too, then. Later." First he wanted at least time enough to get his breath back. How _did_ Ryou do this? He could remember a time when his friend hadn't been able to walk for very long without needing a rest.

Death did work wonders, it seemed.

* * *

Ryou led the way through the crowded paths of the village, taking the quickest route that he could find. That didn't always mean much; the market remained full of people regardless of the season and that made it difficult to get anywhere. But he did his best.

He didn't always pick the same inn; while there were almost always rooms available, they weren't always in the same place. But he did have favorites and the one that he favored the most loomed ahead of them.

"The top floor's usually taken by those who can fly," he told Yuusuke. "They don't often bother though. There are other inns completely devoted to them."

Ryou shifted his bag of possessions as he crossed into the inn. They still had most of the day to explore the market and the next as well. He didn't want to stay very long once he'd made his purchases.

What they'd spoken of before, visiting the card dealers, kept murmuring in the back of his mind. He wanted to go there, to see what they had on sale, and he knew that didn't happen often. The few times that it had, he'd seen nothing that truly _called_ to him, the way he knew the deck that he would use would.

He had seen other cards, though, ones that he'd been quite tempted to acquire. He didn't know why and he refused to get any cards that he wouldn't play. Perhaps he would see if any of them were still there and if Yuusuke had any answers on that.

 _He knows me so well._ There were brief moments where Yuusuke didn't seem to know things, but not enough to bother him. The moments where Yuusuke _did_ know him in ways that no one else did far outnumbered them.

Ryou pressed his lips together as he strode over to the innkeeper, putting aside all other thoughts. Noise came from the common room; it sounded like someone was in the middle of a bar brawl. He'd come across events like that before. It wasn't the first time and he highly doubted it would be the last.

"Two to spend a few days here. At least two, possibly more," he said. The innkeeper, whose attention had been mostly on the noise coming from the brawl, jerked his eyes over to him.

"Of course. I have just the thing." The innkeeper fidgeted for a heartbeat at an especially loud sound from the room before he began to fumble with the keys to the rooms. "Is there anything else that I can do for you or your companion today?"

Ryou wasn't quite sure if he liked the way the innkeeper said 'companion'. Better not to cause more trouble, not without a greater cause than this.

"Are the teamakers in? And the cardsellers?" The cardsellers were a given. There always remained at least one in the market. What he hoped for was more than one, for more options.

"I believe some new teamakers have arrived," the innkeeper said after a moment of thought. "Not so certain about the cardsellers, except the usual, of course. Haven't been that way lately."

Of course he wouldn't have been. Ryou nodded as they exchanged items; a few coins and a small highly polished gem – Yuusuke's contribution to their stay here – for the key to their room.

"Second floor, third on the left," the innkeeper told him. He examined the gem carefully before adding. "You can have it for four nights. After that, we'll need to negotiate further payment."

Most of that had to be because of the gem. The coins would have paid for at least a night, maybe two if he were being generous. But Ryou saw no reason to argue over that and headed for the stairway up, Yuusuke on his heels.

The room was about what he expected: filled mostly by the bed, with a single table and chair near the window. He dropped his bag onto the table and settled into the chair, closing his eyes and drawing in breath after quiet breath. He could hear Yuusuke moving as well, a second bag on the table, and then the sound of someone sitting on the bed.

"It's about lunchtime," Yuusuke said after several long and quiet minutes which served for Ryou to get his breath fully under control. A tiny part of him murmured at all times that he needed to watch himself. He couldn't push himself too hard. That was one of the reasons that he didn't make this trip very often, and didn't fully trust himself to make it alone.

He didn't remember his previous life in much detail but he could remember moments when he couldn't breath no matter how hard he tried, and when parts of him ached in ways that shook him to his core.

"I know. There are restaurants around. We can get something there." He cracked one eye, a tiny hint of a smile flickering around his lips. "You heard the noise from down there."

"Yes." Yuusuke's own lips twitched for an equally brief moment. "I don't think I want to step in there."

"I never have. It's not always that noisy but it's not what I prefer." The innkeeper sold beer and ale here, and a few other odds and ends – Ryou heard rumors that some wines could be purchased as well, but he'd never tested them. He preferred tea above all else.

Yuusuke nodded before he turned toward the window. He said nothing for several moments before he looked back towards Ryou. "I think I know at least one effect that you have."

Ryou sat up a little. This hadn't been discussed before, but he knew that he had to have _something_. It thrummed all through him, the knowledge that he could _do things_.

"Just from watching what happened on the way, I would say that you can't be targeted by destruction effects." Yuusuke tapped a finger briefly. "Something that doesn't target would still affect you, but other than that?"

Ryou nodded slowly. That felt right. There was still so much that he didn't know about himself but regardless, that little piece fitted itself into his head and it felt _right_ to do so.

This deserved a treat of some type. He rose up. "Let's go eat." He knew just the place that they could go. He waited only long enough for Yuusuke to stand up as well and headed out the door.

Part of him thrilled anew at the chance to show Yuusuke around a place that he knew and his friend didn't. He wanted to see Yuusuke enjoy himself. He wanted them to enjoy themselves at the same things.

For a sudden brief moment, he could see a brilliant smile and a pair of highly amused brown eyes looking at him, and a voice as familiar as his own heartbeat whispered words he couldn't remember.

"Ryou?"

Yuusuke's hand on his arm steadied him. He blinked and his vision cleared, restored to the ordinary stone walls of the inn. He shook his head.

"I'm fine." He decided he would ask Yuusuke about this later. He couldn't recall the voice or what they said, but he knew those eyes and he wanted to know who they were. Bits and pieces of his memories scattered about, small shards that he could only pick up with great effort, and he couldn't always put them together the way that he wanted to.

They headed down the stairs a bit faster than they'd come up them, passing out the entryway. Ryou saw an Amazon a short distance away, turned to one side, looking up. He glanced up for a moment as well, mildly curious, and saw a Cyber Harpie descending. Harpie and Amazon greeted one another before heading off in the opposite direction that he planned to take.

"Anyone you know?" Yuusuke asked, glancing after them. Ryou shook his head.

"I think I've seen Amazon Curse Master around here before, but I wouldn't say that I know her." It was the same feeling he had whenever he saw any Amazon: that he'd seen them before. It wasn't strong enough to encourage him to ask, but he did wonder now and then if he'd met them in his other life.

 _I can't have. Spirits don't exist in that world._ That was why he had to live here now. If he returned to that world, that dimension, then only those who could see spirits would be able to see him. _And he can't see them._

He wondered who 'he' was. Someone important to him, without a doubt. But not someone he could remember now.

 _That covers more people than I wish it did._ Ryou frowned, then shook his head.

"This way." He headed off through the thronged pathways. He wanted more than what he'd brought along with him for travel rations, and the Humming Bee would provide.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I'm sure you can guess who is sparking at Ryou's memories. There will be more. The more time he spends with Yuusuke, the more he'll remember.


	15. Chapter 15

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 15/30|| **Words:** 30,986  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Juudai wasn't often disturbed by talking to anyone, let alone one of his best friends, and even if he was, Shou very seldom sparked that disturbance.

But now he tried to find the words that would let him tell Shou what happened in a way that wouldn't hurt. Most of all he wanted to find the words to tell Shou what happened in a way that would make some sense.

Shou sat there and looked at him, waiting. Juudai scraped for the words.

"The night that he died," Juudai started, thinking back those five years, "I could see his spirit. That doesn't happen all the time." Thank goodness it didn't. Seeing Duel Spirits in the human world was rare enough. Seeing human spirits in the human world – well, he thought he'd never see anything else.

Yubel nudged him and he kept on. "We – Yubel and I – we figured out a year or so later that I could see him because he's so strongly connected to spirits. He could never see them, but that doesn't mean he wasn't."

"Of course he was!" Shou threw a glare at him. "Big brother loved – loves his cards." There was a faint flicker in his eyes and Juudai suspected that Shou remembered that horrible year when Ryou hadn't seemed like he'd loved anyone or anything.

But he moved onward. "Because of that, I could take him to one of the other worlds. I gave him a little help, but, well… he's a Duel Spirit now."

Shou started to open his mouth, then he closed it again, blinking several times. Juudai thought if he'd told this to anyone else, to anyone who didn't know him and who hadn't experienced everything that Shou had, they would never have believed it.

 **Tell him.** Yubel insisted, and Juudai pulled in a breath. What he'd already said was just the beginning, anyway.

"We don't know what his spirit name is or what his effects are – or pretty much anything else about him. That's one reason Fujiwara's with him now."

Shou swallowed at that. "Fujiwara knows?"

"He's the only one I've told. We told Pegasus there's a new spirit who doesn't know much about himself that is getting some help." Juudai fiddled with his fingers for a few moments. "I think he'd understand, though."

He wasn't sure when he wanted to tell people the whole truth. Most of the Kaiser's friends had done their mourning and moved on with their lives. Even Shou hadn't seemed as sad as he used to. How to tell them that the guy they'd buried and mourned now had a whole new kind of life?

And there were so _many_ people to tell. Principal Samejima, Professor Chronos, Manjoume, Asuka, Edo, Fubuki, Kenzan, Johan, Jim, O'Brien… not all of them knew Kaiser personally, of course, but they would want to know. So he would tell them, once it was all right to do it.

If it was ever all right. Juudai still didn't know that.

Shou stared down at his feet, silence stretching long between the two of them, before he finally spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

Oh. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised about that. He could almost feel Yubel laughing at him as he scrambled for the right words.

At least the words existed.

"Because he doesn't remember you, Shou. He doesn't remember _me_ or Fujiwara or anyone, not like he used to. He doesn't remember himself, not that he used to be human or the Kaiser or anything like that. He's getting them back. Slowly. But when I saw him, he didn't know. He would have walked right by you."

Or worse, he would have greeted Shou as a friend that the Herald of Darkness brought and little more. He might have seen him as a means to recovering his memories, perhaps.

But he wouldn't have looked at Shou and seen his brother, his successor to the title of Kaiser.

 _I couldn't do that to him. I_ _ **couldn't**_ _._

Yubel's hand brushed against him and he breathed out, accepting their support. He wanted Shou to understand. He wanted Shou to _believe_ him.

Again Shou didn't say anything. This time he turned to look at the little shrine he'd kept all these years. Juudai could feel Cyber End Dragon's awareness there, and curiosity as to the state of its former master.

"Can you bring him here?" Shou wanted to know. Juudai considered that for a few minutes before he started to shake his head.

"No. I'd need his card and that doesn't exist yet." He hoped that Fujiwara could stir up enough memories in the Kaiser so that Hayato could draw the card. He'd give them a week or so to see how the process was going before he checked on them.

"How long?"

Juudai shook his head again. "Don't know." He wished he could say more, give better answers, but he had to work with what he had. He'd learned so much more about what he could and should do since the day he'd fused his soul to Yubel, accepting who he was and his duty to the worlds. This straddled the line of could and should very neatly.

Shou let out a silent breath, still not quite looking at Juudai. His next question was one that Juudai sort of expected, given his earlier one.

"Could you take me there?"

Juudai had given that thought for a while. "I could. I'm just not sure if now's the right time."

Shou's head snapped around towards him, eyes blazing with flames of rage. "He's my _brother_!"

This was going to hurt so very much. Juudai didn't look forward to it at all.

"He was your brother. He might be your brother again, but right now he's not. Right now he's a spirit who doesn't know the name of his card. He calls himself Ryou because that's what _I_ called him. Because I didn't know what else to call him."

Juudai loathed the way that Shou stared, fury shining so very bright. He wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true, though.

"He's my _**brother**_. Even if he doesn't remember, it doesn't matter."

Shou stood on his feet a few seconds later, pacing this way and that. He stalked over to the shrine and stared down at it, fists clenched. Juudai said nothing. He had no idea of what he could or should say.

 **He's hurting.** Yubel sounded vaguely curious more than anything else. **You're not telling him what he wants to hear.**

Juudai nodded. He knew. He couldn't tell Shou what he wanted to hear. All he could tell him was what he needed to.

He pushed himself up and came over there. "Fujiwara's good at what he does. If anyone can get his memories sorted out – and he _wants_ them back – then Fujiwara's the one who can do it. So it might take some time, but it should happen."

"Should?" That single word held enough frost for the entire world.

"It will." Juudai wasn't going to lie but he had to believe that Fujiwara would succeed at what he was there to do. "I just don't know how long it will take him."

Shou rested one hand on the shrine, not quite touching Cyber End Dragon, but close to it. When he spoke this time, it was a question that Juudai hadn't expected.

"What's he like now?"

Juudai took a few minutes to answer that one. "Strong. He's a guard in the village he lives in. Doesn't duel though. He's still looking for the right deck. I think a part of him recognized Fujiwara. It was like they struck up being friends again right away. He still drinks tea."

He kept on, trying to remember all the little things that made Kaiser what he was and who he had been. Shou drank in every word, slowly turning to look at him as Juudai kept on talking.

"And you think he wouldn't remember me?" Shou asked at last. Juudai mentally winced.

"He doesn't remember Fujiwara. It's just..." Again Juudai scrambled to find the words to say what he meant. "Like Jim said that one time. Spiritual friends."

Shou turned back to the shrine. He stayed quiet this time, before he stepped over to the box he kept cards in that weren't in his deck. Juudai gave him privacy as he started to count them out.

When he turned back, he stopped at the shrine long enough to pick up Cyber End Dragon.

"I started getting these in booster packs a year or two ago. I thought it was some kind of a cruel joke. Maybe it wasn't." The way his lips moved wasn't exactly a smile, but it did convey a little more happiness than usual. "Give this to him."

He held the deck out and Juudai took it mostly out of reflex. He sorted through it, eyes widening with each moment.

 _Three Cyber Dragons. Cyber Phoenix. Cyber Oroborous. The Cyberdarks. Fusion._

It didn't have them all. Juudai didn't have the Kaiser's deck memorized but he could recall that not every card was in this deck. He wasn't sure if Shou didn't have them all or if Shou just didn't put them all in there. He also wasn't sure of how much it mattered.

"Maybe if he sees this, he'll remember," Shou whispered.

Juudai tucked the cards back together and put them into a pocket. "I hope so." It wasn't a bad idea at all. Even better, he could feel the spirits of those cards. They weren't quite the same as the ones Kaiser's original deck had; these were mostly asleep. Cyber End Dragon remained awake, of course, a low purring echoing all around.

 **They want him.** Yubel decided. **They may or may not spark his memories but they want him and he will want them.**

Juudai nodded. Ryou bounced from deck to deck after he'd passed his Cyber and Cyberdark deck to Shou, never entirely settling on one, forever trying new combinations and new options. He'd been fairly happy like that, though Juudai suspected even then that he wanted to have one single deck.

Shou went back to sit down again. He looked a little calmer than he'd been before, even if there was more strain around his eyes. He glanced at Juudai for a second.

"You can't stay, can you?"

Juudai considered. There were things that he needed to do, but nothing that couldn't wait for a while. "What did you want me to stay for?"

"Dinner? Overnight?" Shou asked before he looked over to catch Juudai's eyes, as he'd seldom done on this trip. "Tell me more about him? And where he's living?"

Juudai wasn't surprised. As long as he'd known Shou, Shou admired and adored his big brother. Even when Ryou plunged himself into the depths of Hell, Shou still worried about him, tried to help him, wondered if he would ever be good enough to carry on that legacy.

He needed to drop by Johan's and start filling him in on things. Of all of his friends, he'd wanted to tell Johan what was going on the most. Besides, he needed to catch him up on a few other things as well, and find out what Johan needed to tell him. Johan kept him grounded to the world. A rough job, but someone had to do it.

"I think I can stay until tomorrow." Johan wasn't going anywhere. Ryou would need time to let his memories awaken and Fujiwara would need time for that to work.

Shou's eyes lit up at that. "Did you want to order in or have me make something? Or we can go out somewhere?"

When Shou got excited enough, even at his age, he reminded Juudai so much of a puppy. Juudai chuckled at that. "Let's stay in. I could use the rest." He wasn't really dressed for going out anyway. His hair needed a good brushing, he hadn't changed his clothes in longer than he cared to think about, and his bag had a corner unraveling.

 **Johan will help with that,** Yubel reminded him. He would be all right until then. Juudai wouldn't argue. He could wait.

He could also use some good sleep. Crossing dimensions took it out of him. And he suspected that the talk Shou wanted to have would do so even more.

But it would be absolutely worth it.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Halfway there & Shou finally knows! We're on the downward slope now!


	16. Chapter 16

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 16/30|| **Words:** 33,006  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Ryou groaned. His head throbbed and he wanted to close his eyes – were they even open? - and go back to sleep. It didn't feel as if it would be all that difficult, either. Just let himself drift off…

A door opened somewhere. He could hear it, and the footsteps that came from the other side, approaching too closely. He'd never enjoyed people being too close to him when he wasn't capable of watching them.

He tried to drag his eyes open and possibly glare at whoever came so close to him. But he still couldn't get himself to move.

"I think he's starting to wake up." A voice spoke that he didn't recognize. A female voice? How many female voices should he know?

There was As – someone. The name faded before he could think it properly. Perhaps someone he'd known in his other life.

But the ones that he knew from his life brushed through his thoughts and he knew this wasn't any of them. He tried again to get his eyes open, but even when he thought they were, he couldn't see a lot. Blindfolded? Dark room?

Darkness. Darkness…

Where was Fu- Fujiwara? Yuusuke? Fujiwara Yuusuke. Where was he?

Not there. Not where he should have been.

Ryou twitched harder and whoever it was stepped closer. He could almost feel their gaze on him, and then did feel a battle-hardened hand moments later, touching against his cheek.

"Yes. You're waking up." She sounded almost happy about that. "Don't worry. This will all be explained soon."

Ryou wondered if he would like the explanation. He didn't think that he would. Why would he like something that involved him hardly being able to string two thoughts together, as well as being apparently imprisoned somewhere?

The more he began to wake up, the more he started to realize what kind of situation he was in, and he liked less and less of it. He could feel manacles of some sort on his wrists and he thought on his ankles as well. What they led to he wasn't sure of. He couldn't see anything at all, which led him to believe he'd been blindfolded.

This was a dungeon cell of some sort. He could smell stone and damp water, but nothing else. When he shifted around, he could hear tiny clicks of chains that reaffirmed he was restrained.

"Don't move too much. The sleep spell hasn't entirely faded. Give it time." Whoever she was advised him. Ryou tried to convey how much he didn't care but she didn't seem to realize it.

Instead, she took firm, quiet steps away and the door closed behind her. Ryou wanted to glare at it. Instead, he drew in a breath and tried to think of what he could do to get out of this. With more thought came more clarity and more memories.

He and Yuusuke had left the Humming Bee. They'd had a good lunch there and had been on the way to the cardsellers to see if any of their wares were what he wanted. They hadn't made it.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip, something fell out of the sky. It shouldn't have – flying wasn't allowed in the trade village. But it did all the same, and whoever it was – he couldn't remember the details, only a few bits of metallic wings and claws – carried someone with them. That person he _definitely_ didn't remember.

But there had been a flash of darkness, and he'd folded over like a napkin, not knowing anything else until he started to wake up here.

Now he started to put things together. It must have been a spell of some sort. Whether it was one that was a card or not he couldn't be sure and he didn't think it mattered much. He'd been put to sleep and taken somewhere.

But where was Yuusuke? He tried to stand only to find that his bonds didn't allow that. He couldn't talk yet, either. He didn't think he'd been gagged. More magic?

More footsteps sounded. He tried to look and see but the blindfold remained firmly in place. The door opened again and he heard two different sets entering.

"Come on." That was all he heard before one of his guards started to tug on the chains. His bonds released just enough so he could stand, and he stumbled forward. He hadn't stumbled in so very long – not since he'd first woken in this world, really.

It only took a few moments for him to get his balance back and his head rapidly cleared up as he was guided out of the cell and up a flight of stairs. From here he could feel the touch of wind and sunlight. That was a definite improvement.

He wasn't sure of how long they walked, only that it didn't seem all that long. They entered a room, and Ryou found himself quite certain that there were several people around him. Not being able to see did not make him any happier.

"Remove the blindfold." A voice that he didn't recognize ordered. One of the guards stepped up closer and obeyed. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his thoughts and vision cleared out and organized.

He wasn't wrong. There were quite a few people in the room other than him. None of them were Yuusuke. All of them were female. He remembered seeing Cyber Harpie at the trade village.

Standing in front of him was someone else, though. In fact, the more he looked at them all, the more he realized: they were all the same. There were slight differences in hair tints and eyes and perhaps a few bits of their armor, but he could tell they were all the same kind of card spirit.

And he knew which one, though _how_ he knew, he wasn't at all sure.

"Hail Cyber," he murmured. "That's who you are."

The one before him nodded and all the others whispered among themselves in glee. He'd heard of them, since they were part of the Cyber archetype and thus lessons around them had been taught… taught…

Ryou pressed his lips together, hissing in annoyance. Where had he been taught about them? He knew he should know. He almost did. The image rose up in his mind: a building, high in the mountains, surrounded by snow. He'd been there. He'd been there so much that it was a part of his mind's furniture.

Another image...a metallic silver dragon with three heads, worked on a background of jade green and bright red. And there, hiding in the back, darkness of a different kind.

 _Cyberdark Dragon...Cyber End Dragon..._ He grasped onto those names with all of his might, hissing harder to himself in an effort to keep them. He _**remembered**_ them. He wasn't going to let them get away.

That was all that he remembered, for now, though. Whatever that place was, the name escaped him. But the army of Hail Cybers stood before him.

"I am Captain Tesni," the one directly before him said. There were tiny strips of blue in her otherwise golden hair and her eyes shone the same shade. "We are honored by your presence."

Ryou raised an eyebrow and then raised his chained wrists. "I'd feel more honored without these and with knowing where Fujiwara Yuusuke is. And why you did this in the first place."

Captain Tesni jerked her head and another Hail Cyber stepped forward. This one had tiny bits of green in her hair, though her eyes maintained the same blue as Tesni's. She quickly unlocked the chains and carried them away as Tesni glanced toward Cyber Harpie, who ducked down, cheeks coursing red.

"I apologize for this, sir. My orders were to bring both of you here unharmed. Cyber Harpie did _not_ do this with my full permission. We weren't certain of your reaction when you woke, either."

Ryou still wasn't entirely thrilled by this. He wasn't getting all of the answers that he needed.

"Then where is he?"

"I left him at the trading village," Cyber Harpie muttered when Tesni indicated she should say something. "I was so excited to find you again that I didn't even think."

"What did you do?" Ryou demanded. He didn't think he'd had a less enjoyable day in quite some time.

Cyber Harpie replied miserably. "I'd met a friend of mine. She had a friend there: Dark Sleep Inviting Lucifer."

That explained the sleeping spell and the figure of shadows that he'd seen with Cyber Harpie. He nodded for her to keep going.

"He put both of you to sleep. We just took you because we couldn't carry both of you at the same time, and Captain Tesni definitely wanted you." Cyber Harpie fidgeted. "We were going to go get him later, but I wasn't allowed."

Ryou frowned. "How long has it been?"

The answer he got wasn't what he wanted in the slightest. "You were brought here two days ago," Tesni said. She shook her head. "I intended to have you tracked while you were at the trading village and I would have intercepted you two on your way home. That was what I _wanted_ to do. I would have spoken to you both there and hopefully you would help us because you wanted to."

Ryou said nothing. Rage alone writ itself across his features.

Tesni closed her eyes for a second and no more. "We are at war. It isn't the sort of war that we had ten years ago, but it's war all the same. An opposing army seeks to destroy us and will do anything within their power to do so." She turned her attention to Cyber Harpie. "If you wish to redeem yourself, go back to the village and find the shadow mage. Bring him back here. _Before_ the Knights find him."

Cyber Harpie ducked her head and took off a heartbeat later, quickly out of sight. Tesni turned back to him.

"The Knights are our enemies. We once were allies, but no more. Now neither of us will rest before we've destroyed the other."

Ryou crossed his arms over his chest. "What does that have to do with me?" He had very little that he could do that would make a difference in a war. For that matter, he wasn't certain what Yuusuke could do in a war.

Tesni offered a small scrap of a smile. It looked as if doing so pained her.

"You don't know, sir?"

"No." If she knew something about him, Ryou wanted the information now.

A few soft murmurs raced through the crowd before Tesni waved them all to silence. Then she turned to face him again.

"You do know that you're a spirit? That you have effects?"

Ryou did not take his eyes off of her. He nodded, briefly.

"I can't say what all the other details of your abilities are, but I know two of them. We searched out a magician who told us about you and what you can do to help us. Your existence will give us all greater strength for one. And as for the other: while you are there, no spells or traps or effects of any kind may touch us."

Ryou translated all of that in his head. _I increase their attack. And they can't be targeted by anything else._ They would still be able to be overpowered if someone had a greater attack – or more strength and skill – but they would be a far more formidable fighting force simply by adding him to the field. Adding to that the effect he'd already known, where he couldn't be targeted by destruction effects…

One more question remained.

Though he would have other questions in time but this one called to him even more.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course." Tesni sounded almost confused, if not offended, by the question. "You're Cyber Hell Paladin. Who else would you be?"

And Ryou smiled, as the name slotted itself into his mind, where it had never been and where it had always wanted to be.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Ryou's effects: he cannot be targeted by destruction effects. Any monster with "Cyber" in its name gains 500 attack points when he's on the field. Last but not least, any monster with "Cyber" in its name cannot be targeted by the opposing player's spells, traps, or monster effects, also while he's on the field. His attack & defense will come later. And yes, his card's name is Cyber Hell Paladin and more details are still to come.

Sorry this is late. Personal issues have interfered with my writing but next Sunday things should be back to normal. I hope.


	17. Chapter 17

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 17/30|| **Words:** 35,046  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Honest appeared almost the moment that Yuusuke opened his eyes and realized that Ryou wasn't there anymore.

"Master!" Honest held his hand out and Yuusuke accepted it, rising to his feet. "What's happened?"

Yuusuke wasn't at all surprised to find Honest there. Whenever his emotions overwhelmed him to any degree, his partner came to him, supporting him in every way. Now wasn't any different from the first time they'd met, when Yuusuke had been seven years old.

"Someone attacked us – enspelled us." Yuusuke rubbed his forehead, trying to get rid of the last remnants of the unnatural sleep. He'd recognized the sleeping spell a heartbeat before it struck but he hadn't been able to avoid it or even lessen the effects. "And they've taken Ryou."

That wouldn't be allowed to stand. He would search forever to find Ryou if he needed to.

Honest stepped closer. "What do you want to do?"

Yuusuke considered his options. There were people watching; he'd been moved over to a place out of the way and he'd clearly been asleep some time. He hadn't memorized the people around him by any means before but he could tell these weren't the same ones that he'd seen when they'd been attacked.

He was, actually, quite certain that Freed the Dark General hadn't been there when he'd fallen. He swallowed for a few moments as the dark warrior strode over to him.

"You are Fujiwara Yuusuke, ally to Herald-sama?" the Dark General asked. Honest stood beside him, saying nothing, but his arms folded over his chest. His power didn't compare to Freed's, but he stood by Yuusuke regardless.

"Yes." He thought he remembered Juudai having mentioned something about Freed but there were so many stories of the years that he'd missed he wasn't sure if he would ever hear and remember all of them.

Freed nodded. "I was told that you were attacked by Cyber Harpie and Dark Sleep Inviting Lucifer, with the assistance of Amazon Curse Master. Are you unharmed?"

"As far as I can tell. How long was I out and do you know where Ma – my friend Ryou is? He's a Duel Spirit, blue hair and eyes, and we're still trying to decipher what his card and effects are."

"I was only recently informed of the attack. I was told that those who struck you took someone away and you were moved aside to avoid blocking traffic." Dark General Freed's lip curled. "Do you require anything?"

"A place I can track Ryou from," Yuusuke said. He started to check his bag; he had everything he would need in order to find him. The implements to cast the tracking spell and an extremely clear memory of him in his current state of existence. If he needed anything else, he knew where the bag Ryou carried rested.

"Come with me." Freed told him, turning to walk away. Yuusuke followed, Honest only a few steps behind him, worry written all over his features. He leaned in closely as they walked.

"Are you certain that you're all right, Master?"

Yuusuke nodded, a little more abrupt than he might otherwise have been. "I'll be better when I find Ryou." He tilted his head towards his partner. "I thought you were going to stay with your brother."

"I was, but I knew you needed me." Honest shrugged. "I can visit the clanhome any time. _You_ need me now."

"Clanhome?" Yuusuke hadn't heard about that before. He didn't think that he'd heard anything about what Honest did before they'd become partners, really.

Honest nodded. "Where the angels live."

Yuusuke's lips twitched for a heartbeat. "I thought that would be Heaven."

"It is Heaven, for us." Honest said, a fond little smile flickering across his features. "I can ask if you can visit one day. Those of shadow are not often welcomed, but you are my Master. You would be welcome."

Yuusuke fidgeted. He'd never fully liked Honest calling him 'master', but he'd never known how to bring it up.

 _I thought it was fine when I was just a kid. But now's different._

Maybe he would suggest something else one of these days, once he knew what he really wanted. He wasn't sure if Honest would accept calling him by his given name, regardless of how much he would enjoy hearing it.

Dark General Freed guided them to one of the finer inns in the trading village. Yuusuke wondered exactly what he was doing here and the question dropped from his lips a few moments later.

"I received a message via Hane Kuriboh from Herald-sama," Freed replied. "He wished me to ensure that you and your companion are not in any danger. It seems I arrived somewhat late."

Yuusuke shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He wasn't going to complain at Freed. Freed stood nearly a foot and a half taller than he did, built with muscles upon muscles, and Yuusuke knew that he'd been one of the most _important_ people in Juudai's old army. Exactly what kept him less dangerous now – if he even was less dangerous – Yuusuke didn't know, but he at least was absolutely loyal to Juudai and that made up for a lot.

"Herald-sama will be coming here in a few more days. He didn't know when." Freed guided them up towards his own room. "But he'll come." A breath of a pause. "I think he intends to bring a companion. He wasn't entirely clear on who it would be, though."

Well. Yuusuke wasn't certain on who would come, but he hoped by the time that whoever they were arrived, he would already have found wherever Ryou was. Even better, he would have found a way to get there and deal with whoever kidnapped him.

* * *

Chaos Hunter screamed, throwing the nearest items to hand against the wall, whirling to kick Dark Familiar there a heartbeat later. He slammed against it and spun off, scrambling for a crack in the wall he thought would protect him from her.

"What more do you want?" Dark Familiar squeaked. "I did what you wanted!"

"You let those _Cybers_ have him!" Chaos Hunter snarled, crashing over a table full of knickknacks she'd gathered over the years. All of them shattered and she didn't care.

She whirled to stare at Dark Familiar, eyes blazing, face twisted in rage. "And you can't tell me where they are."

"They had a Cyber Harpie!" Dark Familiar protested. "I can't fly fast enough to keep up with one of those!"

Chaos Hunter lashed her whip so quickly that Dark Familiar had only a few seconds to get out of the way, and didn't succeed all that well. A streak of blood welled up on his back, followed by a pained shriek.

"I don't care what you think you can't do. I want to know where they are." She paced forward, then stopped, eyes narrowed. "Wait. You said that you tracked them to the trade village. They have cards there, don't they?"

Dark Familiar made a noise that probably sounded like agreement. At least Chaos Hunter took it as that.

"I don't care how long it takes." Chaos Hunter didn't seem to care about a lot of things, as long as she got what she wanted. "But there's a card that I want."

Dark Familiar breathed out a moment's worth of a sigh. He couldn't say he was too surprised. Chaos Hunter enjoyed hurting everyone around her and if she could do it, then she _would_ do it in whatever manner was possible.

"You're going to find this card and bring it to me. If you find any other information that I'll want concerning Hell Kaiser or those Cybers, then bring that as well. But the card first and foremost."

Chaos Hunter's hand rested on his tiny shoulder before she yanked him upwards, staring into his eyes. Dark Familiar flinched away. Her rage was almost as terrifying as Guardian Baou's had been.

"Do you understand?"

Dark Familiar nodded without a second's hesitation. Chaos Hunter smiled. This was going to be extremely bad.

* * *

Once she'd sent Dark Familiar on his way, Chaos Hunter stared at the disaster she'd caused in her anger. She knew she should clean it up, or have someone clean it up.

She would have to clean it up. She didn't have any actual servants to do it for her. There weren't that many that she trusted enough to let live in her home, and none of them were here at the moment regardless.

So for now she ignored it and stalked out of her home, still with rage seething under her skin. She'd been so very close to having her goal and now she would have to reconsider how to gain it.

 _If he can get that card for me, it won't be a problem. But what I need are more people who will serve me._

She'd wanted to do this on her own, perhaps only having someone like Dark Familiar to run errands. But now Hell Kaiser was with the Hail Cybers. They were a reasonably tough group who might even be able to cause her issues, if they fought well enough. With Hell Kaiser's assistance, it could be even worse, if they discovered his effects. She herself didn't know what those were, but she suspected that they would benefit the Hail Cyber army in some fashion. Why else would they take him?

The logical decision occurred to her truly only moments later. It wasn't one that she truly _wanted_ but it would make matters so much simpler.

She would have normally waited for Dark Familiar to return either with her newly desired card or with feeble excuses on why he didn't have it. But she wasn't going to wait that long. She was already furious and waiting would just make it all worse.

 _I'm going to need a ride._ If she could have acquired Cyber Harpie she would have, just to ensure that the creature served a genuine purpose that wasn't annoying her. That wasn't possible, unfortunately.

The shadow mage's spells could also have been useful, but by this time he would already be awake and Chaos Hunter didn't think she could lie well enough to deceive someone who associated with an angel.

Chaos Hunter chose to remain in this region not just because it was close enough to the village where Hell Kaiser resided but because less than two valleys over, an easy journey for someone like her, there was the ride that she wanted.

She made her way as quickly as she could. Her target wouldn't serve her willingly, but he served very few without being tamed beforehand. Luckily, she'd brought along just the way to tame him swiftly.

 _There._ Chaos Hunter smiled when she crossed over into her target valley and saw her goal grazing there. She'd worried a touch that he wouldn't be there when she arrived. Golden Pegasus could and did travel wherever he wanted to.

But there he grazed, ears tilted backwards to warn him whenever someone approached. He would be the swift mount that she wanted, taking her where she needed to go.

She took a step towards him and his head came up, swiveling towards her in a heartbeat. She'd already prepared herself for this, though. Before Golden Pegasus could spread his wings, she brought up a card.

" _Brain Control_!"

In a normal duel, the spell's effects would be temporary. This was wasn't a normal duel. Unless someone found a way to break it, Golden Pegasus would remain under her control for the foreseeable future. If she could find the right method, she would be able to keep him even without the spell.

But for the moment, that wasn't necessary. She strode towards Golden Pegasus as he stood there, quivering, his rage visible in brilliant amber eyes. She rested a hand on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of the warmth under there.

"You're going to take me to find the Knights who are at war with Hail Cyber," Chaos Hunter told him. "If you do it swiftly enough, I just might release you."

She refused to make any promises. After all, why should she give up something so beautiful, just because it served her purpose?

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Events are drawing together.


	18. Chapter 18

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 18/30|| **Words:** 37,055  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

One of the Hail Cybers escorted Ryou to another chamber. This one definitely was a cut above where he'd woken up, especially in regards to the decorations. The bed there was just big enough for one person, a little softer than he would have expected, covered by a woven spread in reds and golds that displayed either a sunset or sunrise: it had been cleverly designed to be either one. A wardrobe stood in the corner beside the narrow window, crafted out of a fine wood that Ryou didn't recognize, with multiple outfits folded inside of it. The clothes themselves looked somewhat similar, all in shades of blue, but with enough variance so that many outfits could be made. There were boots to go with the clothes as well, and a fine cloak edged in fur that he also didn't recognize.

Spread on the floor was another work of art, this one used as a rug, displaying a deep rich blue sky with puffy clouds floating here and there. It matched a tapestry on the wall, and the weaving of bedspread, rug, and tapestry were so identical that Ryou guessed they'd all been made by the same person.

He almost expected to hear the door being locked behind himself. But a careful look at the door showed that it wasn't locked at all. There was a guard outside, but when he peered out, she drew herself to attention.

"Is there anything that I can do for you, sir?"

Ryou shook his head. "No." He didn't offer an explanation on why he looked out, only closed the door and checked the room out again. A chair sat beside a table, the chair with a plush cushion on it, the table with a polished silver mirror hanging above it.

As size went, it wasn't a _large_ room, but it was comfortable and he didn't feel as if this were a fancy dungeon. This was a guest room. This was _his_ room.

Not that he'd be here all that long. He'd already made his mind up on that.

 _I'll stay long enough to meet up with Yuusuke again and then we'll get out of here._ He wasn't at all certain that he wanted anything to do with this war of the Hail Cybers and Knights. He hadn't heard much more about it either.

A tap came on the door. Ryou found himself very tempted not to answer, but he knew that wouldn't accomplish anything. Where else would he be except here? And perhaps whoever it was had some news about Yuusuke or when he would be there.

On the other side of the door stood Captain Tesni. She bent her head the moment the door opened.

"I suspect that you'd like more information about our war before it arrives on our doorstep?"

Ryou folded his arms over his chest. What he wanted was time to deal with those memories that he'd found stirring up and to see if he could bring back any more of them. But the look on Tesni's face indicated that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"If I told you I had no intentions of helping you, would it make a difference?"

Tesni shook her head. "We've searched for you for a long time. I _swear_ we didn't mean it to be like this, but we do need your help."

"I'm sure you do. That doesn't mean you're going to get it." Ryou stepped away from the door and stared out the window. It wasn't very big but it gave him a good view of what looked like a practice yard of some kind. More Hail Cybers roamed out there, some of them practicing archery, others drilling against each other. There were other warriors of various kinds, all with 'Cyber' in the name, sparring against one another.

He suspected that she wanted him to feel at home here. He was Cyber Hell Paladin. He knew that he _should_ have felt at home with others of his own kind here. And yet he didn't.

 _I'm not uncomfortable. But this isn't where I belong._ He couldn't have said where he did belong. But this wasn't it.

She moved over to stand beside him. "Several years ago the Knights and I were in an alliance together. We'd staked out a reasonable amount of territory and ruled it. Our kingdom grew and we were building a good life together. There was peace. Actual _peace_ in this place."

Ryou could understand how rare that was. Peace came rarely and seldom lasted, and when it did, someone tended to wreck it.

"Two years ago, the leader of the Knights fell in a raid by a group of evil magicians. We expected his successor to be reasonable. But he withdrew from the alliance and came to within a hair of poisoning me." Tesni's fingers clenched for a few seconds. "If I hadn't had a healer on hand at the moment, I wouldn't be standing here now. That same healer is who advised us to find a new warrior, one who could increase our power and protect us from whatever effects the Knights chose to use against us."

She turned to face him. "That was when we started to look for you. The peace of the kingdom was shattered by the Knights and until they're defeated, it can't be restored."

Ryou listened to all of it. He wasn't all that happy to hear any of it. He wanted to find himself, not find a war. But at least now he could understand what was behind what had happened.

"All we need you to do is stay close enough for your effects to help us." Tesni told him. "You don't have to fight… though..." Her words limped to a halt and she looked away again.

Ryou's lips thinned. "Though?" Whatever she had in mind, he was quite certain that he didn't like it.

"Your companion: the shadow mage. He could be quite useful to us. But he won't want to help us any more than you do, will he?" She sounded more than a little exasperated. Ryou wasn't at all worried by this. She'd earned whatever he and Yuusuke chose to give her.

He shrugged. "I doubt it. Yuusuke isn't one for war. When he arrives, we'll be leaving." He wasn't going to hide that. They would have to settle this for themselves.

A tiny scrap of unease buried deep within himself flickered. Ryou tried hard to press down on it, to make it vanish, but it remained right where it was.

"You can find help somewhere else."

Tesni laughed at that, a sound almost as bitter as sounds he'd made – or dreamed about making. "What makes you think that we haven't tried? We've done our best to make alliances everywhere. Most of them refused to help or allied with the Knights, seeing them as stronger. Some of them did agree to help but they're not strong enough themselves to do very much."

She rested a hand on the edge of the window. "This battle – when it happens – will be the last one between us. We're down to less than a third of what we were when the war began and they outnumber us by nearly twice this number. With your help we can win. They've brought allies of magic, fiends, and others. We have very little beyond what you've seen here."

 _I don't want to do this._ Ryou told himself that over and over. He really didn't.

Or if he were going to be flawlessly honest with himself, he didn't want to want to help. But the more that he watched and the more that what Tesni said sank deeper into him, the more he began to wonder.

 _The people of this world deserve peace. At least most of them do. If there's something that I can do about this, shouldn't I?_

He'd talked about something like that once or twice with Juudai. Responsibility, that was what it was. Juudai held a huge, almost unbelievably monstrous burden of responsibility, and he did his best to help everyone and anyone who needed it. Ryou hadn't ever felt all that responsible for anyone else. The more the flickers of memory from his past revived themselves, the more he wondered if he'd always been like that.

 _If I was, was that the right way for me to be?_ That was an answer that he didn't have.

"With luck, your companion should be here soon. I know what you've said about leaving. But tell him what I've told you and let him make up his own mind. That's only fair, isn't it?"

Ryou said nothing at all for several minutes. He turned over everything Tesni said, whether he liked it or not. The only answer that truly made him feel right was one that he didn't fully trust, not with how he'd been brought into this situation.

"All right."

Yuusuke _should_ make up his own mind. Ryou suspected what the answer would be. He just wanted to hear it for himself.

Tesni said nothing else, though, at least not on the subject of what Yuusuke and his answer would be.

"If you're hungry, then dinner will be served soon. You can come down to the dining hall or we can have a plate brought up here."

Ryou considered that for a few moments. Faint flickers of memory moved, presenting him with the image of a beautiful room full of boys, all dressed in various garments with a preponderance of blue, seated at many different tables, with food being set before them. There he felt at peace. That was a place he belonged. He might not have at one point, but he had when he was there.

"I'll go down there. Tell me when." Ryou cast a glance across the room again. He wanted to be somewhere else. This just didn't feel right, and it had nothing at all to do with the decorations or the space. He needed air.

"I'll send someone." Tesni nodded towards him before stepping out of the room and down the hallway. Ryou watched the door until he couldn't hear her anymore, then turned his attention out the window again.

The training continued, though the various Hail Cybers switched places, those who had been using bows and arrows now having their swords out and sparring amongst each other, and those who'd sparred now working on their accuracy with bows. Ryou's hand dropped down by his waist and another sensation, not quite like a memory but the feel of a memory that couldn't be and wasn't yet, brushed by him. He missed something. He _needed_ something and it wasn't there.

 _I'm Cyber Hell Paladin._ The name glimmered fondly in the depths of his mind. _Is this what I wear? Is this what I look like?_

No. No, it wasn't. He didn't know what he _should_ wear, but it wasn't this at all. He would have to find it, sooner or later.

His gaze drifted from the window and when he looked back, he spied someone on the other side of the training field. He couldn't get a good look at them; they were shrouded in a cloak, and at that distance even if they hadn't been, he couldn't have seen more than blurred features.

 _Who are you?_ This person stared directly at him, and Ryou suspected he saw a smile of some kind. He did, without a doubt, see the stranger raise one hand towards him, in a gesture that he suspected of being a greeting of some sort. He didn't return it. He wanted to know who was there before he did that.

As if the other read his mind, they nodded for a second. Whatever else he expected, he didn't think that seeing them vanish in between one breath and the next was it. If anyone else saw that, they didn't react at all.

Moments later, a tap came at the door, followed by a voice. "Cyber Hell Paladin, sir, it's time for dinner."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** So now I have a war to wrap up and the situation with Chaos Hunter as well.


	19. Chapter 19

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 19/30|| **Words:** 39,118  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

 _Where is it?_ Chaos Hunter stared through Golden Pegasus's ears, searching for any sign at all of the Knights' fortress. She'd only heard a few scattered rumors over the last few years of the war between the Knights and Hail Cyber, not quite enough for her to believe they were anything more than passing gossip, until now.

 _Which way?_ She'd searched from east to west and north to south with little to show for it beyond a slightly greater knowledge of the area than she'd begun with. She saw travelers of various types, small villages and the occasional larger town scattered here and there, and scenery that bored her to tears. What she didn't see was what she wanted: that fortress.

She pressed her lips together, nudging Golden Pegasus to perch on an outcropping of rock. Enough moss and thick grass grew around there for her mount to have a meal, while she dismounted to stretch her legs and chew through her own rations. It gave her time to think about how to find her goal and what she would do afterwards.

 _The Knights aren't the type to turn on their allies. Knights are_ _ **loyal**_ _._ Her lip curled at the thought. There weren't many she would ever count herself loyal to – her fallen brother, her lover, her own personal goals, those covered about the bulk of it – and to consider the fact that others might amused her. If amusement were even the proper word.

But the truth remained the truth: the Knights weren't at all the type to simply turn on allies, even if they had a difference of opinion. She'd heard stories about Knights who disagreed with each other and who worked it out through 'honorable combat' - either dueling or physical blows – instead of simply backstabbing one another like intelligent people.

To find that this happened, even without knowing all the details, caused her to wonder something: was someone else pulling their strings? And if so, who was it and what did they really want?

 _I'll find out once I find_ _ **them**_ _._ She might take a break from the search but she wouldn't end the search until she'd found what she was looking for.

She turned where she sat to examine the rise of mountains behind her. If she ever built a permanent fortress of her own – and the idea had occurred to her more than once – she would build it in an area like this. Find a defensible position, one with a good source of water and a limited number of ways the enemy could approach.

 _Haou's castle was in a good place. Better than Brron's._ She'd lived in both of those for long periods of time. She'd not quite liked the lava moat surrounding Haou's but he presumed it necessary for some reason or other.

The next logical step to that was to find where in these mountains would be a good location for a defensible fortress. That wouldn't necessarily be where the Knights hid, but it would be a better place to start her searching than continuing to fly around randomly. She tapped her fingers on the haft of her whip before she let her gaze run up the side of the mountain.

Trees and bushes grew at least halfway up the side there, watered by various streams. She couldn't see what might live there but there were tiny trails just visible from this angle, ones that could possibly be animal runs, or even places where scouts and guards could hide. The more she eyed that area, the more she decided it would be best to check it out in more detail. So far she'd just looked for the obvious places and not really plunged down to find whatever might be hidden.

"Golden Pegasus -" Chaos Hunter started to say, when she was interrupted.

"Paz. My name is Paz." Golden Pegasus turned to look at her, pawing the ground with one strong hoof, wings fluttering, sending a gust of air through the cropped grass. "If you're going to ride, you can at least call me by my name."

Chaos Hunter tensed. As far as she'd ever known, no one affected by Brain Control ever spoke during the spell's effects. They certainly didn't assert their personal name, if they even had one. She didn't move, eyeing him cautiously.

Golden Pegasus arched his neck to give her a stern look. "You want to find the Knights. You could also tell me _why_ you want to."

"Why?" Chaos Hunter found her voice, hand dropping to her whip shaft again. "Why does that make any difference to you, my servant?" She wouldn't let her mount think that he served any purpose that wasn't carrying her where she wanted to go.

If Golden Pegasus had been capable of it, Chaos Hunter thought he would have smiled.

"Because I can help you _find_ what you're looking for. Or I can make certain that you run around in circles for the next twenty years. Which would you prefer?"

Chaos Hunter's grip tightened on her whip. "You'll do _what_?" This didn't seem even close to the sort of conversation that she wanted to have happen at this point. She'd never even wanted it to happen at all. Golden Pegasus was her brainwashed steed, nothing more! Certainly not anyone in a position to make demands!

A single hoof touched the earth again. "I believe you heard me. Now, make your decision. Speak to me or be abandoned here. I _certainly_ won't miss you."

"You are my _servant_!" Chaos Hunter snapped, jerking her whip from her belt. "You'll do as I tell you! Brain Control!"

Golden Pegasus swished his tail as if she'd never said a word. "I carry who I choose. Are you going to answer me?"

 _He must have something to negate the use of magic on him._ The idea of striking him with the whip appealed, but not when he was her only chance to find what she searched for.

"I seek the Knights that are at war with the Hail Cybers. I intend to ally with them so I can have backup to destroying the one that _I'm_ at war with: the one formerly known as Hell Kaiser. He killed my brother, Chaos Sorcerer."

it didn't matter that her brother had fallen in war. He was her brother, one of the few beings she'd ever cared about. She would end his killer in the most painful ways that she could.

Golden Pegasus pawed the ground again, a little more slowly this time. "I can help you. I know where they are."

Again her fingers twitched and it was all she could do to keep herself from screaming. She wasn't sure if the scream would have been one of joy or anger at this moment either.

"And how do you know that?" They hadn't exactly put out their address where anyone could find them.

"I have my ways." Golden Pegasus – Paz – turned his side towards her. "Get on."

Chaos Hunter hesitated only for the briefest of seconds before she swung back onto Paz's back. She didn't entirely trust the creature – if it had its own mind then it could easily throw her off while above the clouds – but her options remained limited.

Paz galloped swiftly along the slope before leaping up into the skies, wings beating, launching forward. Chaos Hunter gripped onto the mane and watched where they were going. Paz sped along, moving along an angle that they hadn't taken before. Most of the area looked somewhat familiar, so boring that Chaos Hunter had barely even paid attention to it when she'd gone over it the first time.

Then Paz started to aim downward, cruising through a long stretch of vivid blue-green trees, of the sort that seldom dropped their leaves. They didn't bear fruit, either, so Chaos Hunter saw no reason to linger in the area. They didn't even seem big enough for those she would be looking for to hide around.

"Here?" Chaos Hunter shook her head. "If you think that you can trick me..."

"Why would I bother doing that?" Paz snorted, reaching out to wrench some of the leaves off of one of the trees. "If I wanted to get rid of you, there are better ways that I could do it that don't involve leaving you here."

The trees thinned out, ending in an empty circle. Golden Pegasus landed in there, raising his head. "Holy Knight Dragon!"

Chaos Hunter tensed even more; she'd heard of that creature before, but it remained one of those that she'd never seen face to face. That changed a few heartbeats later when a deep voice spoke and she snapped her head around to see a pink-scaled dragon approaching from the circle of trees.

"What do you want, Paz? We have a battle to deal with soon. I don't need to be interrupted."

Paz snorted, swishing his tail. "And I have someone here who thinks she wants to take part in that battle. Or use you all for her own ends. Or something else. As long as she gets what she wants."

Chaos Hunter's fingers tightened in his mane. Whatever else Paz was, she didn't consider him an ally and she even less considered him someone who could keep his muzzle shut.

"Are you the leader of the Knights?" Chaos Hunter asked, prepared to be at least marginally polite if she needed to be. Whatever she had to do in order to get her the right allies, she would do.

The dragon raised up and stared at her, drawing in a huge deep breath. "What if I am? And what if I'm not?"

 _He would bring me to someone who won't give a straight answer._ She was too close to getting what she needed to waste time with words.

"I need to speak with whoever the leader is. I will offer what help I can to defeat your enemies: because the best way that can be done is to defeat _my_ enemy."

Holy Knight Dragon stared at her intently before turning away. "Bring her this way." Nothing else was said, and Paz followed him, taking easy long strides through the thick underbrush.

Chaos Hunter wanted to ask so many questions, but all of them stayed behind her lips. One point she'd learned thoroughly and well in her youth had been when it was best to talk and when it wasn't. Whatever else was going on now, she would get what she wanted best by seeing what was going on around her.

That didn't stop her from being amazed when between one step and the next, her surroundings changed, transforming from deep forest to a city of stone. Long strips of meadow and trees still wrapped around the buildings, but now this was a place where people could live. And people did live here. As they walked along, Chaos Hunter saw warriors of many types – not just Knights – peering through windows and doors, all of them wary and watchful at the sight of her.

"What is this place?" Chaos Hunter wondered aloud. Paz chuckled softly at that.

"Exactly what you wanted: the base of the Knights."

Chaos Hunter kept all of her other questions under control as they entered the center of the settlement. Holy Knight Dragon waited for them there, wings bent and staring at them, eyes glimmering in the flickering light provided by a mixture of sunlight and glimmering crystals. Those had been very popular in the wealthier areas during the Age of Darkness, though not many used them anymore.

" _Are_ you the leader?" Chaos Hunter asked, turning her gaze back onto Holy Night Dragon. This wasn't what she would have expected in a leader, but surprises weren't unknown in such situations.

"No." One word, spoken by two voices, answered her. Chaos Hunter turned to see two figures approaching, both with wings. One stood a bit taller than the other, the taller wearing a golden-yellow dress, with long velvet gloves a few shades darker than her dark indigo hair. In one hand she carried a sharp-tipped spear, her dark green wings tipped outward.

The shorter one carried a broom in one hand, with her gaze much colder than her companion's. Golden hair tumbled down her red robe, with pale pink wings spreading out from her shoulders.

"We are the leaders of the Knights."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Because of plot developments, this will definitely have a minimum of two sequels. Possibly more. And as always, sorry this is late.


	20. Chapter 20

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 20/30|| **Words:** 41,163  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

There were plenty of Hail Cybers in the dining room, along with a few other Cyber types, all of whom stiffened when Ryou entered the room. So many sets of eyes turned toward him, all heads bending in a gesture of respect. Ryou couldn't find it in himself to be either too upset or too pleased by it. He thought he might have enjoyed it more if he hadn't been taken from Yuusuke and his search.

 _I'm probably never going to get that tea._ The tea vendors would probably have left by the time that he got back there and he couldn't be certain of when they would return.

But he kept his calm. It wasn't easy but he did, regardless of how much he wanted to see exactly how strong he really could be in battle. He refused to go back to his village without having acquired the tea and cards that he'd come for, no matter how he got it. He would talk to the captain about this later.

And yet it still didn't feel right. He wanted something more to be angry about. This should be settled far more easily than he thought it would be.

Captain Tesni sat at the head of the table, with an empty seat next to her. When she caught his eye, she gestured for him to sit there. On her other side was someone else, someone wearing a hooded cloak. He frowned; was that the person he'd seen on the other side from his window?

If it was, had there been time enough for someone to get here from there? He couldn't be certain. There hadn't been that much time, but they would hardly be the only person to have magical travel powers of various times.

A vivid image flickered through his thoughts, a being in armored robes, with skin of pale blue. Ryou couldn't put a name to the being, only a sense of wariness and battle. He thought there were times that he'd seen this person in his dreams, though he couldn't be certain.

This person could teleport. How, he didn't know, but he recalled that. So it wasn't at all impossible that someone else here could do it.

Ryou made his way to the seat and settled himself in. Tesni waved one hand and servants entered, carrying food and drink, and the various soldiers murmured among themselves. A few people cast glances toward him, but no one said anything to him.

At least not until Tesni spoke. "Cyber Hell Paladin, I would be honored for you to meet a friend of mine: Phantom Magician."

The stranger pulled back their hood, revealing a pleasant enough face, set in a neutral expression, but with a small tint of a smile there. Ryou couldn't be certain if they were male or female or perhaps neither. Certainly it wouldn't be the first Duel Spirit he'd ever encountered who partook of both or chose not to be either. He nodded slightly.

"A true honor to meet you," Phantom Magician spoke, their voice as neutral as their features. "I almost began to believe that Tesni crafted you from her imagination. To think that the great Cyber Hell Paladin truly exists – and is sitting down to dinner with us."

Ryou's answer was interrupted by one of the servants setting a bowl of hot soup near him. A breath of wind tossed the scent up to him and he breathed it in, savoring the aroma. He wasn't sure if he'd ever smelled anything like that before. Certainly delicious, if the taste matched the scent.

"It wasn't something I ever expected," he said, keeping his voice as restrained as always before he started eating. The taste did indeed match the scent, the soup thick and full of meat chunks and vegetables, with an undertaste of herbs that he wasn't sure he'd ever encountered before. He thought he could have made a meal from that alone.

Phantom Magician and Captain Tesni chatted between themselves, soft whispers of words that Ryou paid nowhere near any attention to as he worked his way through the soup. At least they weren't insisting that he take part in it. From the way they glanced at him every so often, he thought they were at least talking _about_ him.

With the soup came tea – and that caught his interest more than the soup had. It wasn't one of the ones that he'd wanted, but something about it stirred him regardless. There weren't any particular images that the scent stirred up, but he he thought he remembered something about it regardless. Black tea it was called, he learned, and that definitely encouraged him to think about _someone_.

He wasn't certain of who 'someone' might be and as other courses came and went, he found other things to think about. The food itself remained quite good; not excellent by any means – the soup was the best part – and soon enough he leaned back with another cup of tea, sipping slowly and trying to clear his mind enough to think of what to do next.

He knew what he needed to do next: either find his way back to the village or wait for Cyber Harpie to return with Yuusuke. The latter option wasn't one that he favored. He wanted to _do something_ and just sitting around wasn't really it.

 _And yet if I leave, Cyber Harpie will still bring Yuusuke back here. It could be days before we see each other again._ Add to that the fact that he'd at least agreed to let Yuusuke make his own decision on what to do with this war and that made sitting here what he had to do, regardless of whether he liked it or not.

He tried his best to put the vague memories away where he didn't have to think about them. Those were a part of his past and something he very much wanted to learn for himself, but he also had to work out what his present and future would be. And given that he _was_ Cyber Hell Paladin, that meant he would have to deal with everything here, whether he wanted to or not.

Phantom Magician cleared their throat and Ryou glanced that way, eyebrow tilted briefly. "As I said before, I thought that Tesni invented you. I'd never before heard of you until she first spoke of you."

"I haven't heard of you, either," Ryou said. He hadn't; he didn't think that he'd ever truly studied spellcasters. What Yuusuke told him of his past didn't quite fit with this magician.

"I would be far more surprised if you had. I do have a card, but it's one very few have ever used." Phantom Magician smiled, at least so far as Ryou could tell. "I believe you don't have one as of yet?"

"Not that I know of." Ryou took a sip of his tea. This cup tasted a bit different from the first one that he'd had. He wanted to think it had something to do with the pot; perhaps not cleaned as well as it could have been? But that didn't seem to be right either.

Another sip. The taste remained the same; still good and delicious but just _something_ laced underneath it, something that tasted enticing enough for him to keep on drinking it. He wasn't the only one; everyone he could see here had a cup or mug of the tea, enjoying it.

Except Phantom Magician. By their hand stood a flagon of wine that they sampled from on occasion. Ryou wondered if they had something against tea; perhaps an allergy or just not liking the taste?

He wanted to think that. But the way Phantom Magician's eyes flicked from cup to mug and from Tesni to Ryou to the others of the army, he couldn't bring himself to believe that.

"Where do you come from?" Ryou asked. The words sounded strange even as he spoke them, a little dry, a little slurred, and it grew harder and harder for him to find the words properly.

"A land quite far away. Not in this world, of course. I came to help some friends of mine." Phantom Magician took a long sip of wine, lounging backwards, lips curved into a satisfied smile. "But I met Tesni and I just couldn't help myself from taking part here as well. It was quite fascinating to spend time around here and learn all about this world. Such a strange place, that once had no idea of what the sun was." They tilted their head towards one of the windows, where light slanted in. "Have you ever known true darkness?"

Tesni looked as if she wanted to say something, but her tongue tangled around her words, and Phantom Magician urged her to take another drink of her tea before looking back at Ryou in anticipation of an answer.

"I've known darkness of many kinds," he said at last. "I think I've known it here too." Was that part of his memory? Yuusuke hadn't mentioned anything like that, bu t it felt right. It felt like something that he'd done at some point. The vague recollections of the opponent he'd faced, the one with light blue skin and such strange robes, told him so, and Ryou learned to trust his memories to some degree. At least the ones that he'd been able to dig back up.

"Of course you have." Phantom Magician purred out the words. "I would expect nothing less from the one who brought about the downfall of Haou."

Ryou tensed. He'd heard so much about that long ago war, but never anything like this. "What are you talking about?"

"So it is true that you don't remember. I expected as much; they say that you died before you became who you are." Phantom Magician picked up a small cake from a plate before them, nibbling on it carefully. "All the stories speak of how you and he battled for hours on end before you defeated him. I don't believe all of _those_." They leaned forward, eyes gleaming brightly in a plethora of colors. "I could believe it _now_ , of course. You're not human anymore, no matter how human you look. But then you were human. A weak, flesh mortal who couldn't walk for more than a short time before falling over. I see dying improved you."

Again they took a drink and nibbled on the iced cake. "But what's important now is that it's time to go and meet my friends. I brought gifts for them, of course. Gifts to bring other gifts. The tea is mine. Did you like it?"

Ryou didn't even look at it. He was too distracted by the sound of someone slumping forward. One of the Hail Cybers collapsed, mug of tea spilled all over the table, eyes closed, a deep snore issuing. Ryou tried to get up, but his legs tangled underneath him, and he had to sit back down at once.

"Wha-what did you do?" He growled, forcing the words out as clearly as he could. He jerked his head around in time to see Tesni's head falling back, eyes closed, deeply asleep. One by one, the various members of the army succumbed, while Phantom Magician said nothing at all, sitting back so very pleased with themselves.

"Tesni told me that your effects would protect everyone in her army on the field from being directly targeted by other effects. Which is why I did this: drugged tea. Not targeted to anyone and not magical at all. A sleeping mixture that will keep you all unconscious until my friends can come and deal with you all." Phantom Magician leaned forward. "I quite look forward to seeing what Ruin wants to do with you."

"Ruin?" Ryou wasn't sure of how he managed to get the word out. He couldn't make any others, though. The more the tried, the more a deep wave of weariness fell over him. He couldn't quite wrap his head around everything that was going on, but he forced himself to listen, just a little more. Most of what Phantom Magician said he couldn't hear, save for one thing that struck through loud and clear.

"Ruin, Queen of Oblivion."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Phantom Magician comes from the GX manga, and in fact is used by Edo. As for Ruin... here's a hint. Ruin is a Ritual monster that can be summoned by the effect of End of the World. Ruin requires eight levels worth of monsters to be summoned.

And that is all I'm going to say.


	21. Chapter 21

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 21/30|| **Words:** 43,196  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Yuusuke settled down at the table the dark general provided and unpacked his tools. Scrying wasn't one of his greatest strengths by any means, but right now, he was willing to try anything in order to find Ryou.

 _Juudai says darkness is everywhere. So let's find out._

He knew that on some level, the statement remained absolutely true. Darkness _was_ everywhere. Now he had to use it.

A black bowl that he'd carved himself – it wasn't necessary in these days for a magician's tools to be all self-made, but Yuusuke liked doing it himself. He wanted to be certain that it was done correctly.

He filled it with clear water before taking a small foldable lantern out of his bag and lighting it. He didn't really need it to see: he needed the flickering shadows it would cast.

One last item: Ryou's bag. Yuusuke's fingers trembled at the feel of it. It wasn't one he was used to seeing, but this was his key towards finding Ryou in the first place. He breathed in and out, bringing himself to absolute calm, before he focused his attention on the shadows stretching out over the water.

 _Ryou. Where are you?_

This wouldn't be even close to the easiest thing he'd ever done. The spell itself wasn't hard at all. But finding Ryou, that was going to be a little more difficult.

He needed to focus on Ryou as he was now. Not Ryou the adult who'd slipped away or Ryou the teenager that he'd gone to school with.

But Ryou, the duel spirit of unknown name, of very limited known effects, of great strength.

He gazed at the shadows and water, putting his mind at ease, or doing his best to do so. It wasn't that easy to be at ease when tiny thoughts flickered back into his awareness at a moment's notice.

 _Can I do this? I've never tried to find a Duel Spirit before._

 _Is he all right? What if something happened to him?_

 _Why did Cyber Harpie take him in the first place?_

He strained to get his thoughts calm over and over, breathing a little harder each time, staring into the water as the light and shadows danced together. Images flickered across it, nothing very clear, but the shapes of people moving around. Not just people, either. He couldn't be sure of what those were, but they existed in the water and shadows all the same.

The more he tried the harder it was to focus. He settled himself down yet again and breathed, trying not to ripple the water. That might not break the spell, but Yuusuke didn't want to take the chance.

He wasn't at all sure of how much time this took. Under normal circumstances, scrying could take hours. It might already have. He wasn't going to stare at a clock, not now.

So he stared. So he searched. So he looked for anything that would link him to Ryou.

 **Fujiwara-kun?**

Yuusuke blinked at the soft voice echoing through his mind. With how deep he'd been in the search for Ryou, it took a few moments for him to recognize it.

 _Juudai-kun?_

 **I heard you in the shadows. What's wrong?**

Yuusuke breathed for a few seconds, trying to wrap his head around this. He knew Juudai could sense when he used his shadow magic, but he'd never spoken to him like this before.

 _Ryou's gone. Missing._ He let the images flicker through his mind, the way that Cyber Harpie dropped down from above, the sleeping spell, and what little he'd learned after that.

 **Still haven't found him?** Juudai could frown with his words. Yuusuke tilted his head a bit; he'd been so focused on finding Ryou that he'd forgotten what the Dark General told him, about the message via Hane Kuriboh and that Juudai intended to be there in a few days.

 _No. I've just started looking, really._ Yuusuke tried to turn his attention back to the search but it wasn't going as well as he would have wanted.

 **Huh. I didn't think it would be this difficult.** Yuusuke could feel Juudai thinking. He wasn't sure of _what_ Juudai thought about, but the awareness of his thinking pervaded the shadows.

Then there was another presence right behind Juudai's awareness. Yuusuke couldn't tell what it was, only that it was there and that Juudai's attention turned toward it for a few seconds.

 _Juudai-kun?_

 **Hold on. This won't take long.**

Yuusuke tried to focus on the scrying, trusting to Juudai to know what he was doing. It seemed to him that there were faint images of Ryou, but nowhere nearly clear enough for him to pin down where he was.

It was almost as if Ryou wasn't quite who he thought he was anymore. As if he didn't know who he was looking for.

Then a hand touched on the back of his and he looked to find himself staring into a pair of glimmering golden eyes.

"Let's do this together," the Herald of the Gentle Darkness said. Any words Yuusuke might've had choked in his throat and he nodded quickly.

Together they stared at the shimmering light on the water, shadows dancing this way and that. Since he was fifteen and first started learning what he could about the magic of darkness and shadows, Yuusuke found himself linked to the shadows at all times. But now the shadows were so much more, wrapped around him, holding him close and warm.

"Of course you feel it. Because of me." The Herald chuckled at that. This didn't quite feel like Juudai, Yuusuke realized, but he didn't need Juudai. He needed darkness incarnate. "Come on. We're looking for Ryou, remember."

Yuusuke focused back, recalling that thought he'd had before. "Is it possible that he's changed somehow? Or that he's still asleep? Would that interfere?"

"Sleeping, probably not. The spell looks for what someone is, not what they're doing." The Herald considered, eyes glimmering in the darkness. "But changed, that's not impossible. It would help if your image of who he is and his image of who he is are the same thing."

That got a stirring of something. Yuusuke wasn't sure of what it was, but the words tugged at him, leading down a path of thought that he slowly tried to speak.

"He's a spirit. We don't know his name or most of his effects. But if whoever has him figured it out and told him… would that change him enough so that I can't find him?"

The Herald said nothing, but his gaze shifted over to one side. Yuusuke glanced in that direction and wasn't surprised to see Yubel standing there. Their head tilted to one side in thought for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"Knowing one's true name and abilities is very central to a spirit's existence. It could take time to accept them but once they're known they become a part of us."

The Herald tapped a finger in thought. "So what we need to do is find him and we can't do that because he's somehow figured out his new real name and his effects, or at least enough of them so he's changed enough so the spell as we can do it won't affect him."

Yuusuke's fingers tightened into fists. "Then what do we do?" He wasn't going to just sit around and do nothing while Ryou was off somewhere. He'd come here to find his friend again and under no circumstances would he change that.

"We find him so we can find him." The Herald grinned in a way so very similar to Juudai before turning toward Yubel. "Since we brought him back as a spirit, isn't there a connection of same kind?"

"Yes. It's very slender, much like a thread, and I would not try to track it – under normal circumstances. It could affect him." Yubel's eyes warmed a touch, one hand resting on the Herald's shoulder.

"It's happened before," he murmured, raising his hand to brush against Yubel's.

Yuusuke wasn't at all certain of what they meant, but now wasn't the time to ask, either. They could work this out later.

"It won't be enough to find where he is. But I think we can at least find out his name and possibly his effects." Yubel added. Yuusuke nodded before he turned more towards them, shoulders high and tight with tension.

"Whatever you're doing, then if at all possible, I want to help. Ryou's my friend." And he'd hoped once they could have been more than friends, but that hadn't panned out.

Dying did tend to affect one's romantic prospects, after all.

The Herald and Yubel exchanged the quickest of glances; so quick that Yuusuke might not have even seen it if he hadn't been looking. Then they both nodded and held their hands out toward him. He took them, one hand with faint dragon scales and the other hardened from a life of wandering. He tightened his grip just as the darkness engulfed all three of them.

The moment that it did, Yuusuke couldn't feel their hands. He knew they were there; he hadn't moved and they hadn't moved, and the awareness of their presence remained the whole time. So did the darkness, thick and enfolding and comforting, a presence as alive as could be. Warm and supporting, it sank into every bit of him.

 **I think we should tell you. Doing this could affect you. And your magic.**

 _It will?_ Yuusuke didn't think that he spoke. The Herald's words whispered into his mind, as close as his breath.

 **Don't know for sure. We've never done this before. But it could happen. You'll have to see once we're done.**

Yuusuke wondered what the effect would be, if one occurred at all. Now wasn't the time to discuss so much. Now was the time to find Ryou.

 **Right. Find yourself, first of all. Know who you are and what you are, and what you could be.**

Yuusuke wasn't certain of what was meant by that, but he tried anyway. He was Fujiwara Yuusuke, formerly of Obelisk Blue. He was Honest's partner – Honest who stood outside the door and waited for him so patiently. He'd once been the pawn of Darkness, but now he stood by the side of the Herald of Darkness, striving to redress all the wrongs he'd done once upon a time.

He worked for Industrial Illusions. His task was to create cards for those spirits who didn't have them and who wanted them: like Ryou. Ryou, who'd been his friend for years, who wanted his memories back and the truth of who he'd been and who he was and who he might be.

And who might _he_ be? He hadn't missed what the Herald insinuated: the change could make him other than human. He could become a spirit as well. And if he were, what kind? A spellcaster? A demon? An angel?

Too many options for him to guess, but he knew the answer at the bottom regardless. It was the same for Ryou: that underneath it all, he was and would always be himself.

Ryou would forever be Hell Kaiser, a duelist of raw power and strength, who respected those who earned his respect, and who had learned the hard way that he should never underestimate anyone, regardless of events. No matter his name or what he could do, that was what Ryou was, and anything else would be little more than window dressing.

The window dressing is important, though. It's what sets one window apart from another. So what does he look like now?

The image rose in his mind without a bit of effort. Tall, with blue hair and tinged skin, pointed ears, wrapped in black leather from head to foot. Ryou's essence all but shimmered in Yuusuke's mind. Wrapped around him in that image there glowed a thread, slender and dark, that emerged from his heart.

 **That's it. That's the bond that was created when he became a spirit. Follow it.**

Yuusuke didn't know how he moved but he did regardless. Ryou was out there somewhere, and he wasn't going to give up finding him.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Time to lead to the first story's wrap-up!


	22. Chapter 22

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 22/30|| **Words:** 45,332  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Phantom Magician welcomed their partner into the building. Heavy warrior's boots echoed faintly on the carpeted floor, grinding mud with every step. He cast his eyes everywhere as he marched through the silent corridors, disapproval in the tilt of his head and the intermittent low growls hidden behind his helmet.

"Where are they all?" With every movement he made, he exuded the fact that this place was his now. Phantom Magician thought that Queen Ruin might even be pleased enough to grant him ownership of the fortress, even. Presuming that she didn't want it rendered down to dust. She'd been known to do such things.

"I put the rank and file down in the dungeons. They'll be useful with the right spellcasting and retraining." Phantom Magician saw no reason to get rid of perfectly useful people who just needed their morality rearranged and obedience diverted. "Tesni and their 'Cyber Hell Paladin', on the other hand..."

That got a slight tilt of the head towards them. If Phantom Magician hadn't known that one couldn't see his eyebrows behind his helmet, they would have presumed that said eyebrows tilted towards them.

"This way." They guided their partner to the throne room. At least it would be a throne room _now_. Tesni hadn't ever had much of a view towards the proper trappings of power. This was more of an audience chamber, a place everyone could gather to learn their battle plans.

Of course that hadn't done them any good in the long run. Phantom Magician remained deeply thrilled about that. All of this was their idea; Queen Ruin knew only that they'd intended to spy on the enemy for a time. To be able to hand the entire army over in one fell swoop would be such a wonderful victory, certain to garner them a promotion and a vast reward. It wasn't easy coming across such in the Knights when one wasn't a warrior.

"What else can you tell me?" Ghost Knight asked, focus far more on the trip than on them. Phantom Magician laughed ever so softly.

"There's little enough. Tesni believed every word I told her about just wanting to help. She was _so desperate_ to end this war she didn't even notice it already had." Phantom Magician shrugged. "We may have to keep an eye out for a time, though. Tesni send Cyber Harpie back to Dervan to pick up the Paladin's travel companion."

Another inquisitive tilt of the head. Phantom Magician might not have understood the gesture if they hadn't spent so very long with Ghost Knight.

"A shadow mage. Apparently Tesni thought he would be quite useful against the Knights." Phantom Magician leaned their head back. "She's not wrong. If he's as good as she seemed to think, then he could be very useful to us as well. Did you want to wait until he's here before we go back."

Ghost Knight considered the question as they entered the new throne room. "Perhaps. I can think of uses that the Queen might have for a shadow mage." A smile touched his voice. "Or that I might."

Phantom Magician chuckled a bit. They hadn't worked with Ghost Knight all this long to miss that. Ghost Knight always looked out for himself, first and foremost.

The throne room needed a proper throne and quite probably a few guards to set it off. Right now all it had was a battered table, once split down the middle and now held together with hammered nails and wire. Three chairs settled around it, a fourth tossed on one side, each of them as rickety as the table itself. Ghost Knight would have ignored the chairs, if they didn't contain his focus of the moment.

Two people slumped in one each of the chairs, both of them bound by thick chains that not even the most powerful of spirits could have broken. Phantom Magician thought even the Herald of the Gentle Darkness himself couldn't have broken them: Holy Chains.

 _I'd rather not attempt to find out._ Phantom Magician would do almost anything to advance themselves, but the idea of facing the one who'd so nearly brought the entire world underneath his boot in the space of three months wasn't one of them.

Ghost Knight gave little more than a passing glance to the young paladin, instead taking a stand in front of Hail Cyber Tesni. He slipped a long bladed knife from one of his sheaths and tilted her head up with the flat. Without his helmet, Phantom Magician suspected that a smile would have been visible. It wouldn't have at all been a pretty smile, but a smile all the same.

"I know that you're awake. Both of you." Ghost Knight spoke, digging the point of the dagger into Tesni's flesh. Her eyes opened, full of a rage so great it should have set fire to the shoddy tapestries on the wall.

"What do you want?" Tesni spat the words out. She gave no look at all to Phantom Magician or to Cyber Hell Paladin. All of her attention remained on Ghost Knight.

"I think that you know. This war ends today." Ghost Knight traced the edge of the blade alongside of her chin. "Your Hail Cybers will once again fight beside our Queen's Knights. Whether you will or not remains undetermined."

Phantom Magician let out a brief laugh. "And that determination isn't yours. Queen Ruin will decide for you."

"Who is this Ruin?" That question came from Cyber Hell Paladin. Ghost Knight and Phantom Magician both turned towards him, neither entirely certain how to react to him. Phantom Magician long ago divined he would be important to the settlement of the war, but as matters stood now, they couldn't quite figure out how.

 _He's a captive now, nothing more. Yet my divinations are so seldom wrong._ It happened on occasion, but so rarely that Phantom Magician did not consider it now. Perhaps now would be one of those times.

"Ruin, Queen of Oblivion." Ghost Knight spoke at last, giving the paladin a very curious look before shifting his attention back to Tesni. "You've told him nothing, I see."

"I told him what was important." Tesni held her head up, nothing but prid and anger reflecting in her eyes. "Why should I speak of a jumped up fool who only seeks selfish revenge?"

Again Phantom Magician could feel the smile in the knight's words. "Tell him now, then. Let him know who will order his death – or worse. There are those who know what's worse than death and how to inflict it on others."

"Yes, there are. But there are problems with fates worse than death, you see." The voice came from behind and Phantom Magician and Ghost Knight both turned. Long shadows reached there, cast by the glimmering sphere of light hanging from the ceiling. Then from out of the shadows stepped two figures.

One was a trifle taller than the other, with seaweed green hair and eyes that seemed to want to be sleepy but right now glowed sharp with anger. Phantom Magician didn't recognize the kind of clothes that he wore, but didn't need to. This was the shadow mage. Even with the fury he evinced, they had no fear of him.

Fear unfolded at the sight of his companion. Then the thought reversed itself: the shadow mage was this man's companion, not the other way around. He looked quite ordinary; perhaps a little over average height, with ordinary brown hair and very ordinary brown eyes.

They were very, very ordinary. Until one looked into their depths and saw the sparks of gold hidden, sparks that weren't there for decoration. Roiling even deeper under them were flashes of green and orange. Only Phantom Magician's mage sight could show those colors when this man didn't want them seen.

Phantom Magician saw them now and at once began to reconsider every life choice that they'd ever made that led them to this place.

"Problems?" Ghost Knight asked, still holding his knife. There wasn't even a hint of shaking in his grip. Phantom Magician wasn't certain if he knew who this was, or if he would care if he did know. Ghost Knight wasn't always the brightest. Courage beyond words, of course, but never the brightest.

The Herald smiled. It was a smile that very few ever saw and fewer still were those who'd ever lived to talk about it, especially those who stood against him. Green and orange flickered stronger in his eyes.

" _Me_. I will absolutely have a problem with _you_ unless you back off from my friend. If you want to finish this war, you'll finish it _fairly_." The Herald moved closer, every step measured and dangerous. "Go back to your Knights." He made a shooing motion with one hand. "And don't try this kind of thing again. Either of you. Settle things with a duel or fighting or whatever you do. But don't bring people into it without asking first and _definitely_ don't drug them." His attention flickered to Tesni. "Or enspell them."

Phantom Magician could not hold back the snort that came from that. She'd warned Tesni that sending Cyber Harpie wasn't the best idea. Where was she, anyway? If the shadow mage was there, shouldn't she be there?

Tesni's cheeks tinged faintly. Chains rattled and Phantom Magician glanced in time to see a third figure behind Cyber Hell Paladin, who now stood up, freed of his bonds. This new figure had somewhat vaguely the same coloring, but in brighter shades of teal. He wasn't someone that Phantom Magician had ever seen before and when they attempted to look at him with their magical sight, they winced away, covering their eyes with one hand.

 _It's like looking into the sun! What_ _ **is**_ _he!?_ Gazing at the Herald was far more comfortable, even with those terrifying eyes of his.

The shadow mage moved closer to Cyber Hell Paladin. "Are you all right?" Worry seethed between the two that didn't ease off no matter how they stared at one another.

"I'm fine. Better than I would have expected." Cyber Hell Paladin bared his teeth and Phantom Magician thought that was meant as a smile. They decided that they could have their reunion perfectly well without anyone else's presence and would probably prefer it that way.

They were quite close to Ghost Knight, who'd barely moved since the Herald's appearance, and rested a hand on his arm. This wasn't at all how they'd planned for this to end up and it would make far more sense to get out of here and rendezvous with everyone else at the Knights' stronghold.

A heartbeat later, they froze when the Herald's gaze turned towards them. "Behave." One single word and then darkness rolled itself over Phantom Magician. When the world cleared, they were somewhere else entirely: somewhere Phantom Magician didn't recognize. Tall trees rose in every direction, shadows cast thick in every direction around them, and moss underneath their feet so thick and soft that it could be slept on.

Glancing to one side showed Ghost Knight, every bit as confused as Phantom Magician found themselves, if not even more so. Instead of the early winter nip to the air, this place held the warmth of summer. Phantom Magician pulled in a very unsteady breath.

"Where are we?" Ghost Knight demanded, fists clenching and unclenching. "Who was that? How did we _get_ here?"

"My friend, we've just been in the presence of the Herald of the Gentle Darkness." They looked around in search of a way to get to clearer ground. "And I think we are very lucky that he spared us." They drew in yet another breath. "I think I'm retiring from the Knights."

* * *

"Where did you send them?" Johan asked, leaving Ryou and Yuusuke to their reunion as he stepped over to Juudai. He'd also freed Tesni and she hurried out of the room to deal with her people. "I thought you were going to let them leave on their own."

Juudai shrugged, a hint of anger still glittering. "I wanted to be sure they didn't try anything else. And I'm pretty sure I sent them back to where those Knights of theirs are."

"Are you sure?" Johan cocked an eyebrow in his general direction. He knew Juudai usually meant well but mistakes happened to everyone. Especially Juudai. "Because that didn't feel like where they were."

"He's right." Yubel agreed, appearing in between one breath and the next. They and Johan exchanged a quick, very amused look. No one understood Juudai better than the two of them. "You sent them south, Juudai. _Very_ far south. The Knights' stronghold is to the northwest."

Juudai blinked a few times, a deep flush rolling up over his cheeks. "Oh. Oops?"

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I am very late with this and I am very sorry. In my defense, I got Kingdom Hearts 3 a few days ago. But here it is. Eight chapters to go! Are you looking forward to the resolution as much as I am?

Next chapter will explain a bit more about how Johan got there, though it shouldn't be that difficult to guess. I haven't forgotten that Chaos Hunter is with the Knights. This is just the start of a series and I'm planting seeds for the future.


	23. Chapter 23

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 23/30|| **Words:** 47,348  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

"How did you find me?" Ryou asked, eyes shifting from Yuusuke to Juudai to the stranger that he thought that he knew. This trip wasn't the pleasant three or four day jaunt that he'd expected to have that would end with him back home with a fresh supply of tea. He knew far more about himself now than he'd even dreamed he would know before all of this began.

Most of it he hadn't liked finding out but he knew it regardless. Most of all, he knew who he _was_. He still wasn't certain of who he'd been, but he could remember so much more now.

Yuusuke shrugged. "It took me and Juudai to track you down." He hesitated before going on. "Ryou – do you know anything new about you? About yourself?"

"A few things." Ryou's gaze shifted to the door Tesni departed through. He wasn't certain what their enemies did while they were unconscious but he could hear noises elsewhere in the building. "I know _who_ I am. The name of my card and two of my effects." He knew spirits with more than one effect remained quite rare. It certainly explained why Tesni wanted his help, though.

He wasn't surprised to see Yuusuke's fingers twitch, as if eager to write something down. "May I ask?" The shadow mage retained his manners, at least for now.

"Cyber Hell Paladin." Ryou tasted the words as he spoke them, and no sooner had he done so than he could feel a sensation that _someone else_ was listening to him speak. Not Yuusuke, not Honest, not Juudai, and not the stranger.

Speaking of Juudai, he turned towards Ryou as the paladin gave his name for the first time, staring at him with hints of gold, blue, and orange flickering in his eyes. Ryou didn't think that he'd ever seen that before.

"You've found your name?" Juudai grinned at that. "Great! How much do you remember?"

"A few things." Ryou lifted his shoulders into a quick shrug. "I used to use a Cyber deck – that may be why I'm _Cyber_ Hell Paladin. I remember – Cyberdark Dragon and Cyber End Dragon." And he had other memories, of a place of learning that wasn't the one Yuusuke told him about. He wanted to go there again, to see the tapestry that glowed in the back of his mind. Perhaps another day…

 **Of course it is. You've always been one of us. Our duelist, our friend, our warrior – our Paladin.**

Ryou's eyes widened at the voice. His throat dried up and he jerked from one side to the other, searching, until his gaze fell on Juudai. There. It wasn't Juudai and it wasn't Yubel, but the voice came from there all the same.

"Cyber End Dragon." He would know that voice in the deepest depths of his heart, no matter what.

Before them it appeared: brilliant silver metal and flashing wings, starlight blue eyes and a long tail that curled around him. He rested his hands on it at once, drawing in a deep breath that filled him as none ever had before.

 **You've come back to us.** Cyber End Dragon purred, Cyberdark Dragon appearing on the other side, tail encircling him neatly. **And you're one of us.**

Cyberdark Dragon leaned downward, brushing the black metal scales against Ryou. **I could have told you that you would be, if you wanted. From the moment that you died in battle against** ** _them_** **, I knew.**

The tip of Cyberdark's tail twitched towards the blue-haired newcomer, who raised one hand. "You might not remember me. The name's Johan Andersen."

"Died against you?" Ryou asked, frowning. It sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn't recall the details. A misty image of another dragon appeared in the very back of his mind, along with a glimmer of rainbows and gemstones.

"And me." Yubel appeared in between Juudai and Johan, a faint teasing smirk on their lips. "A long story that we'll tell you one day, but Cyberdark Dragon is correct. You died while using that deck once before and because of that, your spirit and the deck ended up weaving together." They tilted their head back, staring thoughtfully at him. "I suspected this from the beginning. It's one of the reasons I suggested you become a spirit in the first place."

 **When we knew you were ready, we gathered old friends and new to come to you again. Herald.** Cyber End Dragon tilted all three heads to look towards Juudai. **If you would, please.**

"Oh! Right!" Juudai dug into his jacket and pulled out a deck. "I know you've been looking for a deck. I think this deck's been looking for you, too." He hesitated for a moment. "Someone important sent it – someone I don't know if you remember, but you entrusted them with your deck once."

Ryou reached for the deck, more of those vague images moving in the back of his head as he did. He wasn't certain of who Juudai meant, but he didn't doubt at all that he'd trusted whoever it was.

Cyber End Dragon and Cyberdark Dragon both continued to weave themselves around him as he sorted through the deck. Old strategies and new ones flickered through the back of his mind but he pushed them aside for the moment. Other duties called.

He raised his head towards Yuusuke. "The captain here, Tesni, wants me to help her Hail Cybers against the Knights. Those two who were here worked for the Knights." His eyes narrowed and fingers clenched at the thought of what had happened. Ever since he'd realized that he was Cyber Hell Paladin, the thought of what that entailed grew stronger and deeper inside of him. "She wanted to ask your help as well. But I wanted you to make up your own mind." The tiniest of smiles danced its way across his features as he dropped his attention back towards his new-old deck. "I think now I can help more than I thought I could."

Yuusuke pressed his lips together before he cast a glance towards Juudai, Yubel, and Johan. "Do you know anything about them?"

"Yes." Juudai didn't look a great deal happier than Ryou himself felt. "I've known about this war. It wasn't enough for me to do anything – people have to solve their own problems – but whether you do anything – that's up to you."

Johan frowned as well. "I've heard about them too. Something isn't right. They used to be good people. I don't know what happened but it's different now and it shouldn't be." He glanced towards Juudai. "Some people change because they want to." A quick look at Yubel. "But some do because something makes them change."

Yubel rolled all three eyes before turning their gaze onto Ryou. "If they seek your help, then what will you do?"

"I didn't want to before but I think I'm going to help. Otherwise, they're going to keep harassing me." Ryou's lips twisted hard. "I have too much to do to put up with that." He didn't know how much more he needed to remember, but he wanted to remember it without having to deal with everyone else's issues.

 _I'm a Cyber. They're Cybers. We need to help each other._ He suspected Tesni already knew that. So did Cyber End Dragon and Cyberdark Dragon from the way they kept staring at him. From the deck in his hands came tiny pulses of amusement: the other Cybers in the deck. Some he knew, some he had yet to meet. One especially powerful spirit lay in there and that one laughed loudest of all.

He would meet that one as soon as the chance came. He wanted to see why it was so amused at the thought of him protecting the Cybers.

 **You'll see when we meet. But you must earn my allegiance, Cyber Hell Paladin, and you have not done so yet.**

Cyber End Dragon snorted from all three heads. **You know you'll support him. It's as built into you to do that. Just like all the rest of us.**

The stranger voice seemed more amused than anything else. **Be that as it may, he will earn it or he will not see me. I believe you have other points to deal with at the moment, however.**

Ryou pulled himself away from that. One flicker of memory told him that he'd never heard the spirits of his deck speak to him like this and he could have listened to them all forever. But he wanted Yuusuke's answer, and he wanted to know more about this Johan person as well. If he'd died fighting him, then Johan's strength enticed him even now.

Perhaps they could have a rematch.

"Exactly who are you?" Ryou turned his full gaze onto Johan, who looked more or less as if he'd expected that question all along. "And why did you come here?"

"Second question first. Because Juudai needed my help." He playfully nudged at Juudai, who grinned back at him and returned the nudge. Ryou didn't think that he'd ever seen Juudai looking almost this playful. "We work together when we need to – sometimes when we want to. We've been friends a long time." Light glimmered in his eyes. "A _very_ long time."

"You're going to confuse him," Juudai admonished. "We don't have time for that."

Yuusuke hadn't said anything since asking what Juudai and Johan knew about the Cyber folk. Now he stepped forward. "If you're going to help them, Ryou, then I'm going to help you. That's what I came here to do."

Ryou didn't think that getting involved in a war had been first on the list of events they could do when Yuusuke set out here either, but he didn't want to argue the point. Even if he had, brisk footsteps sounded, and Tesni entered the room. For all that she looked, nothing at all could have happened: her hair tucked up neatly underneath her helmet, sword at a perfect angle by her side.

"Cyber Hell Paladin. Fujiwara Yuusuke. Herald of the Gentle Darkness. Guardian of the Light of Hope." Her gaze flicked from one to the other of the four most human-shaped in the room, then rested on Yubel and Honest. "Yubel, consort to the Herald. Honest, Guardian Angel. I ask this finally and formally: will you help us fight against the Knights who have betrayed us, slaughtered us, and who attempt to take this world for their own?"

Ryou's first thought was to demand to be left alone in exchange for his aid. But that wasn't what came out of his mouth.

"Hail Cyber Tesni, I will help." Cyber End Dragon and Cyberdark Dragon both purred their agreement before they vanished back into his deck. The unnamed third chuckled, awareness still there, but said nothing at all.

Yuusuke nodded as well. "What I can do, I will."

Juudai shook his head. "This isn't something I'll get involved with. You have to solve your own problems and you've got the tools that you need to do it already." His gaze shifted to Ryou for a few moments. "And those tools have the tools that they need."

Ryou wasn't going to argue that point either. He stood on the edge of something he didn't understand and wanted to be right in the middle of, all the way up to his neck.

"Same." Johan nodded. "We'll watch to see how it comes out, but we're not going to help either side."

Yubel said nothing at all, but faded away with far more amusement in their expression than Ryou thought the situation warranted. But Yubel, from what he knew, tended to find most events quite amusing.

"If my Master helps, then I will as well," Honest added in his opinion. "What is it that we can do?"

With everyone who agreed, Tesni's tension lessened by a flicker or better. Ryou didn't think she looked very surprised at Juudai and Johan not joining in the fight. The vast bulk of her attention remained on him and Yuusuke.

"Come with me and I'll explain."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** So, any guesses on who the third voice is? Here's a clue: they haven't appeared in the anime at all. Also, there will be a duel by the end of the story. A very important duel.


	24. Chapter 24

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 24/30|| **Words:** 49,400  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

"Cyber Harpie returned not that long ago." Tesni's lips quirked as she glanced at Yuusuke. "I have to say she was very upset that she couldn't bring you back with her as I'd ordered her to."

Yuusuke just shrugged. "I needed to find Ryou." He offered no other explanations or excuses. Tesni turned her attention back to the map spread out on the table, letting the whole matter drop.

"She did pick up a little useful information on the way back. She saw someone riding a Golden Pegasus somewhere – specifically to where we know the Knights have their most well defended stronghold. None of us know exactly where that is. It's not the one we knew they had when we were allies. We managed to destroy that one. It was the biggest victory we ever had over them." Her eyes darkened for a breath or two before she picked up her debriefing. "For a while we thought that would be the end of it. Then the Knights started to strike back at us and whenever we tried trailing them, they vanished."

An area of the map had a large circle sketched onto it. "It took us a while to pin it down, but this is the defended area. We don't know _how_ it's defended, but what we do know is that once they cross into here, no one can see anything unusual. There aren't any signs of the Knights or anyone else. It's like the area is absolutely empty."

Her lips pressed together. "We tried to march in and clear the area out six months ago. We kept up a strong guard and every sort of defense that we could manage and that was probably the stupidest decision we've made since this war began."

"What happened?" Johan asked, exchanging the briefest glance with Juudai. Ryou had his suspicions on what the answer was, but he let Tesni tell the tale.

"It took us three days of marching to get to what we presumed was the heart of the area. I can't even be certain if we were. What I know is that just before dawn we were attacked. The Knights and their allies outnumbered us roughly four to one."

She didn't lift her attention from the map, her shoulders tight and stiff underneath her armor. "That's what cut us down to the numbers you see now. The Knights came so close to wiping us all out and I still don't know how this many survived."

"Because we ran. Because if we didn't, we all _would_ have died." One of the other Hail Cybers entered the room. Ryou couldn't tell which one this one was, since she still retained her helmet. "Several more almost died because of that regardless." She rested one hand on her arm. "I've only returned to active duty recently because of my wounds."

Tesni brought her head up sharply. "Yes. We ran. And we're never running away again. They'll kill us or we'll kill them."

"That's not the best way to win a war," Juudai said quietly, fiddling with the fastenings on his bag. "Are you sure there can't be some kind of peace between you and them? Johan's right. Someone's probably pulling their strings. You said something about allies?"

"Magicians and demons for the most part. A few odds and ends of others." Tesni reported. "I'm pretty sure they have some spies around here as well, ones that can blend in. Shapeshifters or those who can hide or are too small for us to see them. Probably how they found out about you." Tesni nodded briefly towards Ryou. "As I said, you're the best chance that we have to finish this."

Ryou gave her a careful look. He knew what his effects were and he knew that he wasn't all powerful by any means. In the deep depths of his thoughts, he could feel a sensation to never overestimate himself, to know what he could do and to plan accordingly. If he strained hard enough, he could catch a soft mental glimpse of a pair of brilliant blue eyes.

He would work to find out who they belonged to. But that would be after this battle settled.

"If that's so, then I suspect they may have someone watching us _now_. Do we have a way to prevent that?"

Tesni drummed her fingers. "I would've said yes, if we hadn't had that little _altercation_ earlier." A pained expression crossed her features. "Now I can't even say for certain if we've ever been safe here. They may well have only been biding their time."

The Hail Cyber who'd entered took a few steps closer. "Captain, that's why I came. There's a new arrival who wishes to offer his assistance and that of his people."

Tesni's head snapped up, eyes wide. "Excuse me?"

"We have an offer of alliance. I think we can trust this one." Hail Cyber turned and gestured to someone Ryou couldn't see. But when he heard those footsteps, he realized that he didn't need to see them: he recognized those.

So did Honest, who turned, as surprised as Tesni was. Juudai tilted his head as the new arrival entered, while Johan merely looked curious. Yuusuke, on the other hand, looked as surprised as Honest and Ryou.

Roshan entered the room, greeting all those there with a very sweet smile, save for Johan. For Johan, he bent his head gracefully, spreading his wings.

"I'd heard you were here, my lord."

Ryou hadn't ever heard such genuine respect in Roshan's voice in all the years that he'd known him. He wondered just what the angel was doing here. Did he really mean to ally with the Cybers?

Johan bent his head back towards Roshan. "You know I'm not getting involved in this war."

"Oh, I know. But that doesn't ban us from doing so." Roshan smiled a smile so sweet that Ryou suspected it would inflict disease on the unwary. "Just because we serve you doesn't mean that we can't make our own decisions."

He turned back towards Tesni. "I've brought kindred of mine here to take part in this war with you. Would you accept our assistance?"

Tesni didn't wait for so much as a second. "Yes!"

* * *

"Valkyrie." Chaos Hunter tilted her head towards the slightly taller angel. At least theoretically she was an angel. Those horns said otherwise, as did her actions. No true angel would commit the actions that a leader of these Knights did.

Not to mention Chaos Hunter could _feel_ the sensation of something unholy about her. She quite liked it.

"May your horns ever be sharp," she added, admiring the weapons on top of Valkyrie's head. She'd never had horns herself and found them quite attractive.

Her attention flicked to the one standing next to Valkyrie. This one didn't have horns, but her wings were as well kept as Valkyrie's and her expression even darker, befitting her status as a dark magician.

"Angel Witch," Chaos Hunter greeted that one as well. She'd never met them before, or any like them, but she suspected that they were materials for a much stronger being. Perhaps Ritual tributes; she didn't think there were any Fusion creatures that required them.

Angel Witch and Valkyrie exchanged glances before they looked back at her. That lasted only for the briefest of seconds before their gaze turned down toward Paz.

"Why do you bring her here?" They asked, both speaking in absolute unison. Paz shrugged, flicking his wings carelessly.

"Because her goal is the same as yours and theirs. You've wanted someone for Chaos Sorcerer and this is the best option I've seen. She needs to learn some control and some sense, though." He tossed his head, golden mane glittering in the sunlight.

Chaos Hunter snarled; she'd been as patient as she could be all this time! Why did he dare to speak to her of _control_ and _sense_ when she'd held herself back so hard for so long?

Paz whickered, pawing at the ground with one hoof. "You make your impatience clear, Hunter. But hold yourself. These could be strong allies."

Chaos Hunter jerked her gaze away from the pegasus to the two who stood there. "Why?" If she wasn't so close to getting what she wanted, she would have left right then and there. This wasn't at all what she'd thought it would be.

 _They're supposed to claim me as their leader. Praise me for my skills in battle and commanding!_

With a great internal wrench, she fought her rage back down and pressed her lips together. "Why should we be allies?"

Angel Witch and Valkyrie glanced to each other again. "We will decide," the two spoke in unison yet again, raising broom and staff to touch against one another. "We activate the spell card End of the World!"

Light and darkness bloomed forth between the two of them, wrapping around, blocking both from sight. When Chaos Hunter could see again, a single tall woman stood before her, a look to her eyes that spoke of pain and death and agony, holding a staff in one hand, a cascade of brilliant white hair falling to her knees.

Everyone around them knelt before her, even Paz. Only Chaos Hunter remained standing, her arms folded over her chest, whip in one hand.

"The Queen of Oblivion." That was one of the titles she'd heard for Ruin. She'd heard _of_ her but until now, she'd never met her.

Ruin's lips quirked. "So you may call me. Though that is not the title that I prefer. You seek vengeance for the death of your brother."

"Yes." It was hardly a secret, especially for those who might be able to help her gain it.

Ruin tilted her head in acknowledgment, then raised one hand, spreading her fingers. "Chaos Sorcerer. Guardian Baou. Skull Bishop. Skilled Black Magician. Skilled White Mage."

"The Death Duelists during Haou's reign." Chaos Hunter knew them all. She'd eaten at Haou's table then as well. So many pleasant memories, seeing them all there, the black armored warlord at their head, planning further conquests.

"And each of them slain: Skull Bishop by Austin O'Brien. Guardian Baou by Haou himself. Chaos Sorcerer by Marufuji Ryou." Ruin's eyes met those of Chaos Hunter. "And the Skilled siblings by Edo Phoenix."

As if Chaos Hunter would ever forget that. "Why the history lesson?" Wariness prickled at the back of her neck. Something more hung in the air here.

"Skilled Black Magician and Skilled White Mage were – cousins of mine, you might say. We are forged by the same spell card. The creates a bond in many ways. And as much as you seek vengeance for your brother, so do I. Nor are we the only ones. They are not here; we have another location. I brought the Knights under my control be cause they will be useful, and clearing out the Cyber army will certainly be amusing." Her lips twisted into a smirk. "But now that you're here, we can give that honor to you, if you would care to join us."

Ruin's gaze shifted to Paz. "We've searched for some time for someone to seek vengeance for Chaos Sorcerer. I should have known to come to you right away. It would have been far more satisfying for all of us. But Paz brought you here in the end."

"What does he have to do with it?" Chaos Hunter demanded. There wasn't any reason to argue in her opinion. She did wonder who else would seek vengeance, though. She didn't think Paz had a connection to any of them.

"I knew Haou, before." Paz answered, taking steps forward. "He was a powerful warlord and I refuse to believe that he chose this path freely. I will either release the true Haou from wherever that _human_ has him bound in his heart, or destroy him altogether. Haou-sama was the ruler this world deserved and should be again."

Chaos Hunter didn't quite believe that, nor did she believe that Paz would get the answer that he wanted. But it would be amusing to see him fail at it.

 _He should know better._ Chaos Hunter turned back towards Ruin. "And who are the others who seek this?"

"Come along. We have a great many things to plan."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I'm whistling happily!


	25. Chapter 25

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 25/30|| **Words:** 51,419  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Cyber End Dragon would have cheerfully wound themselves all around their new Paladin if the situation allowed for it. They suspected that Cyberdark Dragon would as well. Cyberdark refused to admit that, of course. Cyberdark wasn't the expressive type. Cyberdark far more preferred to blow things up than to admit to anything that might well have been an emotion.

Eminently suitable for the leader of the dark side of the Cyber deck, of course. Cyber End Dragon approved of it. At least now; it hadn't always been so. But over the long years they'd been together, they'd both learned to accept one another.

But now a third came to rest in the deck. One single head, but a glorious waterfall of silver and green scales, coiled up and watching all the events that occurred with avid interest.

Cyber End settled beside the newcomer. They said nothing, but watched alongside, while Cyberdark coiled on the other side, darting occasional glances over there.

They weren't the only monsters watching. All of the new crafted Cyber deck observed the actions of their new Paladin, their kinsman and liege. But Cyber End suspected that Cyber Eternity had far more on his mind than could be told merely from watching.

Cyber Eternity raised his head and stared down at Cyber End. " _Was_ there something?"

Cyber End twitched the end of their tail. "What makes you say that?" Cyber End turned one head to look into the distance, while a second observed the Paladin in more detail. The third kept attention all on Cyber Eternity.

"You and you -" Cyber Eternity darted his head swiftly between Cyber End and Cyberdark, "you keep watching me. Why?"

"Because you're new. Because you don't trust our Paladin." Cyberdark replied without hesitation. "Because we don't know why you chose to join us."

Cyber Eternity flicked his tail even harder. "Because I knew he'd be coming. Because he will need me but I fail to trust anyone, even Cyber Hell Paladin, until I have seen him in battle."

Cyberdark and Cyber End raised their heads to stare at one another over Cyber Eternity. It wasn't the worst reasoning that they'd ever heard. Cyberdark coiled up a bit tighter, chewing on air for a few breaths.

"You know there's battle coming," Cyberdark said at last. Their gaze all flicked forward to where the new angelic allies, Cyber Hell Paladin, and the other Cybers discussed what would be going on with their upcoming fight. "A true battle, not just a duel."

Cyber Eternity stretched forward, winding invisibly around Cyber Hell Paladin. "I'm quite aware. I look forward to it, in fact."

Cyber End and Cyberdark both chuckled at that. "As do we," Cyber End agreed. Cyberdark ducked his head downward, tongue lapping at his jaws.

"More than you can imagine. Those Knights and their allies will taste delicious."

Everyone snorted at that. One and all they knew that Cyberdark drew his power from those who'd perished – some in more direct ways than others. There would be a difference between those who fell on a true battlefield and those who fell in a duel and no one knew yet how that difference would affect Cyberdark. Without a doubt, Cyberdark anticipated finding out.

Cyber Eternity turned back to the planning before them. Most of that none of them cared for; they trusted their Paladin to call them in the right place and the right time. Whatever went on behind Cyber Eternity's eyes could not be deciphered. Cyber End and Cyberdark could only tell that he thought _something_.

"Why did the angels come to help?" Cyber Eternity murmured, the very tip of his tail twitching ever so carefully. "Their liege won't assist, nor will the Herald. We know this."

"Good question," Cyberdark agreed. He turned his dark gaze onto the two brother angels, who spoke of what their people could accomplish in this. "But I don't think we're going to get much of an answer beyond what we already have."

Cyber End chose not to disagree. Whatever the reasons were, they would find out later. At the moment it remained enough that they _did_ help, and they were help that could be counted on not to betray them.

What that help entailed remained to be seen.

* * *

Ruin escorted Chaos Hunter through their headquarters, each movement graceful and firm and that of a warrior queen. Chaos Hunter, on the other hand, moved with every step that of a hunter, one who had prey and would not let it out of their sights until it had been brought down. The heels of her boots clicked on the marble floor and she tapped her fingers on the heel of her whip as they walked along.

Ruin smiled ever so softly, thoroughly amused by Chaos Hunter and her clearly telegraphed annoyance.

 _What a pleasure this will be._ And so it would be on so many different levels.

The corridor led into a wide chamber, filled by a large table with two others seated at it. Ruin nodded towards them both.

"I've discovered the final one to join our efforts," she said, gesturing Chaos Hunter towards one of the empty seats. "This is Chaos Hunter, the one who searches for Marufuji Ryou – whom it seems has become a spirit, Cyber Hell Paladin."

A low sort of growl issued from both of the others. Chaos Hunter glanced at one of them – Law Guardian – with a bit of disinterest, then turned her attention to the other one.

"I would have thought _you_ were dead. So all I was told said."

Skull Bishop snorted at her. "I am and I am not. You don't need to know anything else."

Chaos Hunter didn't look especially convinced of that. Ruin wasn't going to let them get distracted, however. She cleared her throat.

"The Cyber army – such as it is – will be on its way towards us quite soon."

Laughter bubbled up from all of them. Skull Bishop reached for a steaming goblet set in front of him. "How long do you wager it will take us to destroy them all? And will _he_ be there?"

Ruin shook her head. "No. And we haven't yet been able to find the right bait to lure him." She drummed her fingers for a few seconds. "But rest assured, dear partner, that we will find a way to bring the two of you together."

Chaos Hunter leaned forward. "I would like more answers than I've gotten so far. Ones that make sense. I have my own plans I would like to get back to."

"I'm certain that you do," Ruin agreed. "And we have no objections to that. But this is as I told you – we seek to avenge the deaths of our kin and companions. Skull Bishop longs for the blood of Austin O'Brien. I will end Edo Phoenix with my own hands. You seek after Marufuji Ryou."

Law Guardian leaned forward, claws scraping across the edge of his blade. "And I will take this impostor who claims to be Haou and end his life, for the honor of Guardian Baou!"

From the looks on their faces, Ruin suspected that neither Skull Bishop nor Chaos Hunter believed that Guardian Baou had ever had honor to begin with. But that wasn't a point to be brought up now.

"I know all that. What do you plan to _do_?" Chaos Hunter's gaze flicked from one to the other of them in plain annoyance. Ruin admired that.

"Just what we said. Regardless of how this battle resolves, our own goals remain clear. You may have the chance to avenge yourself first against Cyber Hell Paladin. If not, we have other methods to discuss." Ruin leaned forward. "What remains vital for the moment is that all of those do not know that all of _us_ exist. They know of me. They don't know of you." She waved one hand at the others. "And they will not face me now."

Chaos Hunter threw herself back in the chair, arms crossed over her chest, and stared at each of them in turn. "And just how do I get this chance?"

"By combat, of a sort." Ruin raised one hand as she spoke, then snapped her fingers. A few moments later, a tall creature entered the chamber, dropping down to one knee before her as he did. "A pleasure to see you again, Gaap." She glanced at Chaos Hunter. "This is War God Gaap. He's been seeing to it that the Knights are even better trained than before – among other things." She smiled a silken smile. "Now, what is your plan, Gaap?"

"To challenge whomsoever the champion of the Cyber army is to a one on one match to the death. Be it by dueling or by combat." Gaap's wings spread out wide as he spoke, his voice rich and trained, that of a bard, though his body far more resembled that of a demon. "To the victor goes all the spoils: the forces of both armies, all their fortresses, and any treasure that they have, of whatever type."

Chaos Hunter turned what had to be her most suspicious look on him. Ruin knew well that she didn't trust easily or often.

Of course, trust wasn't required in this situation.

"And who do you think this champion will be?" _And what does that have to do with me fighting Cyber Hell Paladin?_ She may not have uttered the question, but Ruin saw it clearly in every tense of her muscle and twitch of her fingers.

"Either Tesni or Cyber Hell Paladin." Ruin raised one hand and twisted it, summoning two spheres with the faces of the respective warriors reflected within. "I rather hope it's Tesni myself. I've quite looked forward to disposing of her. Even if I have to use Gaap to do it. And if he can't, then I'll take of her myself." The history between her and Tesni wasn't one that Chaos Hunter needed to know at the moment. In point of fact, in Ruin's opinion, Chaos Hunter needed to know only what was necessary to bring her properly into the fold.

Chaos Hunter's lips pressed together but Ruin spoke before she could say anything, clarifying the rest of the situation. "If it's Tesni, then you'll face Cyber Hell Paladin at a later point. I believe you seek a specific card before you duel again?" She raised one eyebrow a precise fraction of an inch, waiting until Chaos Hunter delivered a reluctant nod. "If it's Cyber Hell Paladin and he survives the duel, then you will face him regardless. But in either case, you won't face him until we've refined your deck to be capable of taking him down." She leaned back in her chair. "Not only that, but I think we'll need a particular form of bait to lure him into facing you. I know what that bait is and how to get hold of it."

"Care to inform _me_?"

"Not at the moment, no. But rest assured you will know when the time comes. You may have to wait, but unless Cyber Hell Paladin falls to Gaap – which I rather doubt he will – you will have the vengeance that you desire. Does that give you what you want?"

Chaos Hunter's fingers tightened on the whip's haft. She breathed in a silent, long breath before she nodded. "At least for now it does."

"Do apprise me when your little assistant – Dark Familiar, wasn't it? - returns with that card you want. And if you don't get it from him, I'll have my servants search for it. It won't give you an instant victory over him, not if he's half the duelist he was in his mortal life, but it will give you a much better chance."

"I understand." Chaos Hunter still didn't look thrilled about this, but Ruin hadn't expected her to. She didn't care about how thrilled those who allied with her were or weren't, so long as they did what she needed them to do.

And at this moment, everyone prepared to do exactly what she needed them to do.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** So, who wants a duel and who wants a battle? Our options are Ryou vs Gaap in a duel, Ryou vs Gaap in a battle, and the same options for Tesni vs Gaap. Ryou vs Chaos Hunter won't be, I fear, until the sequel – one of the sequels.


	26. Chapter 26

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 26/30|| **Words:** 53,451  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Ryou wasn't used to planning anything. He couldn't yet clearly recall all of the duels that he knew he'd had in the past, but there was an awareness that while he'd set up as much as he could, organizing strategies for a duel remained quite different from sketching out battle plans.

Tesni took care of that, along with a few of her advisers, as well as Honest and Shine Angel. Juudai and Johan kept back, muttering between themselves, with Yubel making the occasional sarcastic comment that he could only catch the tone of. He wasn't sure why they'd stuck around if they weren't going to contribute, but perhaps they had reasons that he knew nothing of.

Yuusuke gave the occasional bit of advice, mostly relating to what he would be able to do for assistance, as did Ryou himself. The whole time, however, a faint prickle of unease began to trace its way all through him. There would be something going on at this battle, something that he didn't like in the slightest.

 _I already don't like any of it._ But he'd made his commitment, and he refused to step back on it.

Yuusuke shifted and Ryou glanced up at him, in time to see soft lavender eyes looking back at him. "It's almost settled."

"I know." Ryou looked at Tesni, then back to Yuusuke. "Tomorrow." They would head to the chosen battleground tonight; it was far too close to the Cyber establishment for the Knights to _not_ have planned for an attack of some sort.

As much as he realized that said attack would have been treacherous, likely performed under the concealing night and without any warning to the Cyber army, he also recognized that it would have been effective. They would have been wiped out, likely without any real means to defend themselves. More so if the plan to take the stronghold itself worked.

Tesni straightened up and put away the battle plans. "If everyone's ready, let's go." She said nothing more, but stalked outward, her spine straight and strong as steel. Shine Angel followed, Honest waiting for Yuusuke, who walked out with Ryou.

Ryou glanced behind himself to see that Juudai, Johan, and Yubel weren't there anymore. Exactly where they'd gone and how they'd done it, he didn't know. But this wasn't close to the first time he'd seen Juudai be there one moment and not be there the next.

 _Who is this Johan Andersen?_ He didn't have Juudai's ties to darkness, but the angels called him their liege and what little they'd said sparked thoughts Ryou wasn't ready to examine closely at the moment.

He set those thoughts away. When he didn't have a battle over his head, then he would deal with them.

For a few heartbeats he rested his fingertips on the deck in his pocket. He wanted to make time to talk to his deck, to get to know them in ways that weren't just battle. Such a chance as this came along so rarely for him.

 **Not anymore.** Cyber End Dragon's voice murmured in the depths of his mind. **Now that you're one of us, we can speak when we choose. But you're right. Now isn't the time. Once this battle's passed, we will have much more time together.**

Ryou nodded. He would be relevant in this battle, if only by ensuring that the Cybers could be stronger and not be affected by whatever enchantments and traps that the Knights had in store. Whatever came after that, he could only imagine.

Arriving at the battle area took a respectable portion of the night. The Cyber warriors stepped it up a little faster, and arrived there in the dark of night. Their tents pitched, everyone settled in for a few hours of sleep, those who could sleep, at least.

"We'd like you to extend your effect as far as you can," Tesni told Ryou. "I don't trust the Knights not to attempt some sort of ambush, especially now that we've come so close to them." She pressed her lips together, not pleased. "With Ruin involved, I absolutely expect it."

He nodded slightly; he hadn't used his effect before, at least not deliberately – it worked almost automatically in that altercation against Lightning Punisher – so this would require a bit of effort.

"Excuse me, captain," Yuusuke interjected. "But I wondered – do you and this Ruin know each other?"

"Yes." Tesni bit the word off as if it somehow offended her. "I know her – and I know the two she usually uses for fodder for herself: Fairy Witch and Valkyrie. We grew up together. We were very close, once upon a time." Each word fell with shuttered fury. "Then they discovered the End of the world spell card and became Ruin for the first time ever." Her fingers gripped around the hilt of her sword and her breathing turned harsh and furious before she spoke again. "After that, she killed someone – someone very important to me."

Tesni turned to them, her eyes sharp and wary and fierce. "Never, ever underestimate the bond between spirits that can Fuse with one another – or Ritual tributes. Our way is different, but as strong in our own way. Ruin is created by a Ritual, but she doesn't understand that – or doesn't care if she does. And I will end her for what she's done."

Without another word, Tesni stalked towards her own tent, vanishing in a matter of moments. Ryou and Yuusuke exchanged a brief glance. Neither of them had expected an answer on that level.

"She'll fight tomorrow," Yuusuke murmured, taking the first few steps to the tent that had been set up for them.

"I think she won't care if she survives or not," Ryou agreed. He glanced around. "I'll be in later. I want to see if I can get a defense set up."

Yuusuke nodded; he'd already done what he could, arranging for some of his deck spirits to watch the area and alert him if anything happened. Ryou intended to fulfill his promise to Tesni and use his effect, however that he could.

* * *

Tesni gritted her teeth as she closed the tent flap behind her. She'd kept herself as much under control as she could all of this time, but now it slipped, ever so little.

 _If Ruin weren't here, that wouldn't be a problem._ She'd kept her secret close to her heart all this time, acknowledging only Ruin's desire for vengeance – anyone who'd known Ruin as long as she had knew how petty Ruin could be.

She hadn't lied. The bond created by being the materials for a Fusion creature or for that of a Ritual tied beings together as close as anything else in the world could. Ruin sought revenge for the death of her cousin – cousin wasn't the right word but it remained the best one, as they'd used the same spell card to come into existence.

 _But she killed him. Stabbed him in the back and left him to die and laughed about it._

Tesni settled down onto her cot and closed her eyes. She would have to get rest before the battle. She'd done all that she could and she would bring her best into play on the battlefield.

A sound came from the tent's opening and she breathed outward before getting up. Tonight wasn't at all the night for insubordination or anything else to disturb her sleep. She yanked the flap open to see one of her warriors out there.

"Captain," the Hail Cyber spoke, saluting. "We've received a message from the enemy."

Of course they had. Tesni nodded. "What do they want?"

Her soldier extended a faceted gemstone toward her. "It's enchanted so that only your touch will reveal the message."

One of Ruin's tricks. It at least made for safe messages, though there were plenty of other uses for it as well.

"Set it there," Tesni instructed, nodding towards the small table in the tent. "Remain outside. If I don't come out in five minutes, find Cyber Hell Paladin and the shadow mage and inform them that they're in charge of the army."

Hail Cyber saluted before obeying orders. Once she was alone in the tent again, Tesni observed the diamond without touching it. It could hold an ordinary message or an enchantment of some kind. By touching it, she accepted whatever spell had been embedded in there. All the preventive measures in the twelve worlds couldn't change that.

 _Best get this over with._

She raised one hand, then rested it on the gemstone. For a few moments nothing at all happened, then a soft pink cloud billowed outward from the gem, surrounding her. Ruin appeared, that familiar smile that she'd seen so often before across her lips.

"Well met again, Tesni. Tomorrow is your last day among the living – unless, of course, you choose to surrender to me. I would quite enjoy having you in my service."

Tesni snorted. "Never." Might as well get that out of the way and find out what Ruin really wanted.

Ruin looked more than a little amused. "I thought that was what you would say. Now, to business. Tomorrow we have combat. It's up to you what type it is: a battle where our warriors fall and die – even with the efforts of your Cyber Hell Paladin – or a duel, where only one will fall. To the victor goes all the spoils. What say you?"

Tesni tensed, considering the options in a heartbeat. She'd brought her army, such as it was there, and she knew most of them thirsted for battle. But they were so few, even with their allies, compared to the Knights and all of _their_ allies.

She squared her shoulders. There really wasn't any other decision that she could make.

"We'll duel, then. At dawn?" The sooner it was dealt with, the better.

Ruin let out that far too familiar silken laugh of hers. "The duel will be at dawn. I quite look forward to seeing you there, my old friend."

"We're not friends." Tesni bit the words off. "We will never be friends again, murderer."

"Don't flatter me before such a momentous day," Ruin teased, or at least pretended to tease. "Are you certain you don't want to choose a champion?"

"I _am_ the champion of the Cyber army." Tesni flared, fists clenching. She wished more than anything that this image of Ruin could be touched. She'd seen this magic before; if she'd even tried, her hand would go right through.

Ruin's lips curved upward. Tesni wasn't going to call that a smile, no matter how much it looked like one. "So you are. At dawn, then."

All the pink cloud faded and it took all of Tesni's strength to keep herself from falling over. She breathed hard, dropping to one knee briefly before she pulled herself back up and made sure she at least looked as if she were in control. Then she stepped to the tent flap and leaned outside.

"Spread the word. Tomorrow at dawn, I'll duel Ruin to determine the outcome of this battle."

Tesni didn't wait for an answer. She could hear the quick footsteps fading into the distance as she moved back to her cot and settled in, taking her deck out of a pocket she so seldom opened. She would never go anywhere without it; she wasn't the sort of duelist that Cyber Hell Paladin was, but she knew her way around this deck like no one else did.

One card caught her eye and she pressed her lips together. _I should take this out._ But she knew that she never would. This was all she had left, the only way aside from leading the Hail Cyber army that she could fulfill her purpose in existence.

 _If Ruin thinks she can take my essence from me, then she has a great deal to learn._

Tesni settled the deck back into place and curled up underneath her blanket. Come dawn, she would settle this war once and for all, and to make matters better, she would destroy Ruin. Perhaps then, and only then, could the spirit of Cyber Raider sleep in peace.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** So, I've gone on and finished the story here. There's so much that remains to write about, though. I want Tesni to meet Asuka – for so me very special reasons that will be seen once we get to the duel.


	27. Chapter 27

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** 27/30|| **Words:** 55,557  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** N/A

* * *

 _Something isn't right here._ Yuusuke stood beside Ryou, watching as the Hail Cyber army and their allies got sorted out to observe Tesni's duel. Sunrise wasn't that far away and Tesni prepared her deck a short distance away, fully decked out in her armor and paying little attention to anything else. She barely even looked up when Shine Angel stepped up, whispering to her. Yuusuke thought he saw a card being passed over, but he had no idea of what it was or why Shine Angel would do that.

He glanced at Ryou, whose own gaze kept dropping to the deck in his hands. While he couldn't hear the Cybers in there, Yuusuke could still feel their presence. He'd gotten more and more used to being able to do that over the years. He wasn't sure if it was because of learning to be a shadow mage or what, but it certainly helped.

"This isn't the end," Ryou murmured and Yuusuke shifted in surprise. Ryou looked up to meet his eyes. "Even if she defeats Ruin, there's something else going on. There always has been."

Yuusuke pressed his lips together, thinking. Ryou wasn't wrong; that tied into his own feelings about all of this. He wasn't sure about it all but none of it felt entirely right. He lifted his head.

"Then we deal with things when we know what they are." What else could they do? Whatever wasn't right wasn't going to politely ignore them, however this duel turned out.

Ryou very seldom smiled and when he did, it tended to be the sort of smile that terrified people. Yuusuke found it soothing, though. Ryou – Cyber Hell Paladin – would do whatever he needed to do. He always had.

Between one moment and the next the army of the Knights and all of _their_ allies stood there. Ruin stood at the head of them, with another person beside her. This wasn't someone Yuusuke recognized, but Ryou tensed the moment that his eyes fell on the stranger.

"That's War God Gaap," Ryou murmured. "I-I remember him. From somewhere." He shook his head; even though more of his memories flickered in day by day, not all of them were there yet. Yuusuke could only hope that these weren't memories that would be needed right now.

Ruin strode forward, Gaap at her heels, and smiled winningly at Tesni. "Such a pleasure to see you."

"Are you ready to duel?" Tesni snapped her words out, her Duel Disk a breath from activation. Ruin tsked softly.

"You are so impatient. Let me introduce you to someone." Ruin gestured to Gaap. "War God Gaap. My chief servant, my right hand, and-" She took a visible pleasure in her next words, "the champion of the Knights."

Tesni froze. Ruin's smile never wavered. "I didn't say that you would duel me, my dear. I specified our champions. You could have chosen anyone you liked. Perhaps that young Duel Spirit there." Her gaze shifted over to Ryou. "Though I must say that there's someone else who seeks _your_ blood."

Ryou took a step forward. "Who are you talking about?"

"Now, now, it wouldn't be a surprise if I just told you. But I'll offer this: should Tesni win the duel, she'll be awarded the army of the Knights and all of their strongholds and treasure. _You_ on the other hand, I can give the name of the one who wants to kill you." Ruin tapped one long finger against her chin. "Unless, of course, you'd care to duel someone for the information?"

Yuusuke kept his attention on Ryou the whole time. He could see the way that Ryou's breath quickened and his eyes brightened at the mere mention of a duel.

 _He hasn't dueled in years. He has a new deck that he needs to get to know._

"He won't." Yuusuke stated flatly. "But I will. If you insist on trial by champion, then I'll be _his_."

He could see Ryou's eyes turn to him, lips turned ever so faintly downward. He would explain his reasons later. For now, he wanted to make certain that Ryou fought as the true Hell Kaiser, Cyber Hell Paladin, as _himself_ and he couldn't do that right now.

Ruin's laugh was a sound of crafted beauty. "So be it then, shadow mage. Regardless of who wins this duel, you will duel someone of my choosing who is also in my service. Victory in that duel will win you the information of who seeks to kill Cyber Hell Paladin. Are we agreed?"

"Yes." Yuusuke nodded, taking a step back as Tesni moved forward. "Good luck, Captain Tesni."

Tesni acknowledged it with a nod, turning her gaze onto War God Gaap. Gaap stood there, broad wings spread out, every inch of him crafted of bone and sinew and a mocking glare of evil. With a gesture his Duel Disk appeared, deck already settled into it.

"I will take the first turn," he declared, his voice not the demonic rasp that Yuusuke would have expected. It could have won him a career as a musician, if he'd wanted that. "Unless you object, captain."

Tesni barely twitched. "Go right ahead."

The two of them stared at one another, then Gaap began, drawing five cards from his deck. He cast a quick glance over them before he selected a card. "I summon Daemon's Soldier!"

In front of him there appeared a tall blue scaled demon, swirling a long brown cape around himself. His attention seared across the battlefield, resting on Tesni, who didn't look all that impressed.

"Daemon's Solder is only a Normal Monster, but his attack makes up for any other failings," Gaap announced as he slid another card between his fingers. "And this will make it even better: I equip Daemon's Soldier with Daemon's Axe, adding another thousand points to make it twenty-nine thousand!"

Yuusuke mentally winced. At least Gaap couldn't attack on this turn. That would have left Tesni with a bare eleven hundred already. But he didn't doubt this would cause trouble in the near future.

"Now, I set one card and end my turn."

It wasn't the best first turn that Yuusuke had ever seen in his life but it didn't bode well for the rest of the duel. He looked forward to seeing what Tesni had in store for them.

"I draw!" Tesni added the card to her hand and made her decisions. "I set this card face-down!" It settled into her monster zone; Yuusuke suspected it was a Flip Effect since there weren't many other monsters it made sense to put face down.

But no sooner had she stated that then Gaap struck, gesturing towards his own face down card. "I activate Sulfuric-Acid-Filled Pitfall! I target one face-down defense position monster on your field and if it's defense is two thousand or less, then it's destroyed!"

There was a small squawk from Tesni's Hail Cybers. But Yuusuke caught a glimpse of a smile on Tesni's' face before she flipped her monster upward, causing a blue-skinned, red-haired and red-winged fairy to appear before them. "Illusion Fairy. She has only two hundred defense points, I'm afraid, so she's destroyed."

Acid bubbled up from beneath Illusion Fairy, long streaks of it reaching upwards to wrap all around her and pulling her out of sight with a horrific scream. Tesni bore onward though.

 _If she doesn't do something about that, then next turn she'll take almost three thousand damage. If not more!_ It wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for Gaap to summon another monster on his next turn and be able to finish her off.

But Tesni didn't flinch. "I thought you would do something like that. It's clear who taught you how to duel." Her gaze shifted to Ruin, then back again. "So this is my counter. I remove Illusion Fairy from the graveyard to summon Diana the Light Spirit!"

Swirling upward in a column of pure white light – much more pleasant than some white lights Yuusuke could name – there stood a maiden who could have been crafted from the light itself. Every inch of her – hair and eyes and gown – gleamed as if fashioned from freshly fallen snow. Her sweet smile warmed many of the hearts there.

"She might not be as powerful as your monster, but on every one of _your_ End Phases, I gain a thousand life points." Tesni pointed out. "Now, this." Another card flicked between her fingers. "Five hundred points of direct damage to you, courtesy of Fire Ball!"

A flaming sphere appeared overhead, hovering for a few seconds before it slammed into Gaap and sent him stumbling back two or three paces. He growled, the sound no longer rich or mellow or sweet, straightening himself out and sending Tesni a glare fit to shatter bone and rend flesh as she set one card from her hand and ended her turn.

"I draw," he snapped, eyes dropping down to the three cards now in his hand. His lips twisted into the foulest of smirks as he summoned a second monster. "Daemon's Calvary!" This red armored warrior demon held the same attack as Daemon's Soldier did before being equipped with that axe. It stared right at Tesni and her single monster, weapon lowered and ready to attack, black stallion neighing in anticipation.

Yuusuke did the math. Unless that face down card could do something about it, then Tesni would take thirty-one hundred damage and lose her only monster.

"Daemon's Calvary! Attack Diana the Light Spirit!" Gaap declared. His fighter roared in rage and galloped towards Diana, lance lowered. A breath before contact would be made, Tesni made her counter move.

"I activate Emissaries of Reconciliation! I take no battle damage at all this turn and no monsters of mine are destroyed, either!" Tesni's grin glowed almost as bright as Diana did. "Was there anything else that you wanted to do?"

Gaap growled, eyes hovering briefly over his hand before he shook his head. "I end my turn."

"Yes, I thought you would. Now, Diana." At Tesni's words, Diana spread her arms outward and a wash of warm white light fell over her, increasing her life points by a thousand. Tesni drew her next card, a slight hint of a frown touching her lips now.

Ruin tilted her head. "You aren't having problems, are you, my dear? You're really only defending yourself, you know. And your defenses won't last forever."

"They don't have to last forever. They just have to last long enough so I can _win_." Tesni pulled out one of her cards. "I activate Treasure Cards From Heaven! I remove the Sealing Chain in my hand from the game in order to draw two cards!"

Yuusuke knew something wasn't entirely right just from the look that flickered over Tesni's face. She hid it well, however, and took out one of her newly drawn cards. "Thanks for the help, Diana, but now things have to change. I activate Black Hole, destroying every monster on both sides of the field!"

In the center of the field black energy swirled without warning, sucking all three of the monsters down into it. All of them screamed and flailed, Daemon's Calvary's horse neighing in terror for a few heart-stopping moments before silence fell. Potential options for what could happen next darted through everyone's minds.

Few suspected the route that Tesni did take.

"I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

Yuusuke and Ryou exchanged glances again. Whatever Tesni's monster was, there had to be a reason for her to summon it in defense mode. A zero attack with an effect that wouldn't function under these circumstances? A flip effect that would be more useful long-term than just attacking right away?

Or perhaps an effect similar to what she'd used with Diana and Illusion Fairy, where she needed more monsters in her graveyard? Too many questions and not enough answers.

Gaap took a step closer, fingers closing and opening as if he wanted to close them around her throat. Then he drew himself up, cast a glance at Ruin, and drew his own card for the turn. No sooner had he glanced at it than he smiled, almost as bright as Diana had once shone on the field.

"Hand Obliteration. We both discard our hands to the graveyard and draw that same number of cards." He tossed all the necessary cards into his graveyard and drew two more, his smile growing even brighter as he did. "I summon Lancer Daemon! Lancer Daemon, attack!" His eyes glinted with pleasure. "And Lancer Daemon possesses a piercing effect as well."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I do hope you enjoy this. Ryou won't duel until the sequel. He needs more of his memories back before he can truly be himself again.


	28. Chapter 28

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Twenty-eight|| **Words:** 57,621  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang **Notes:** N/A

* * *

Tesni pressed her lips together. Matters weren't quite going as she'd hoped they would in this duel. She knew exactly how Ruin dueled and from the moment she'd accepted this, she'd believed that she would have a good chance to defeat her.

Fighting someone else threw her a little off-balance but given how clear it was that Ruin taught Gaap how to duel, she'd recovered relatively quickly.

It had been a long time since she dueled, but the cards came easily to her hand and she thought she stood a pretty good chance of winning. Until this move, she'd held Wingweaver in her hand – one of her most powerful cards, though it needed two tributes. Thus why she'd set out Holy Frame – two tributes in one.

Under most circumstances, she wouldn't have had a problem with keeping Holy Frame on the field until her next turn. Even if she hadn't and she'd had to revise her strategy, being in defense position would have kept her safe. Except for that piercing effect.

Lancer Daemon charged across the field, weapons lowered, and slashed into her face-down Holy Frame. For a brief moment Holy Frame appeared, a swirl of light dots, and Lancer Daemon slashed at it with both sharp lances. Holy Frame vanished with a tiny shriek and Tesni stumbled back, the pain slashing through her as well.

Her life points dropped down to thirty-four hundred. It wasn't that bad, she told herself. She could keep on going. Diana's effect boosted her enough so that she had more time to handle the rest of the duel.

That didn't make the pain any less as she struggled to get back to her feet. She hadn't even looked to see what the card she'd drawn until now.

Her eyes widened at the sight of it. It wasn't the best card, but it could help – it could help a lot.

Gaap set one card before he ended his turn, smiling that far too sweet and revolting smile at her. She tried not to pay attention to it, shifting her glance over to Cyber Hell Paladin instead. He stood next to the shadow mage, watching her thoughtfully. She wondered if he approved of her dueling.

Stories did say that he was one of the most powerful duelists the world had ever seen. She wondered if she'd ever have the honor of dueling him – though it would have to be a duel that ended before one of them fell. That wasn't impossible; it merely required caution and effort.

Or possibly going to another world. If they spoke to the Herald about it, such a thing might not be impossible.

"My turn! Draw!" Tesni put aside thoughts of what would have to come after all of this and focused on dealing with this.

Two spells. That was it. She did what she had to do.

"I activate Backup Squad! For every thousand points of damage done to me in an attack, I can draw one card!" For a moment she examined the other card. With what her life points were right now, she wasn't certain if this was necessary or not – but the sight of that face-down card disturbed her more than she wanted to think about. "I also activate Angel's Lifeblood, to increase my Life Points by eight hundred!"

In front of her there appeared an angel, clad all in white with fair white wings, who held her hands over Tesni. Her hands glowed a rich blue as Tesni's life points rose up, then the angel vanished.

"With that, my turn's over."

Gaap snorted. "Not much of a turn. Just protecting yourself, nothing more. And you're terrified of what I can do. You still think that you can win this?"

"As a famous duelist once said, we won't know until the duel's over with."

Gaap started his turn. 'Then let's finish the duel! I activate Daemon's Roar! With a payment of five hundred life points, I can summon a Daemon monster from my graveyard. I call for Daemon Commander!"

In the center of the field there swirled a violet circle and a gray boned hand rose up from the heart of the hole. It gripped onto the edge of it before being joined by a second hand, and both hands pulled the rest of it upward, revealing a large, powerful demon that roared the moment that it stood all the way out of the whole.

Tesni swallowed. This had to be one of the more powerful of the Daemon's army: twenty-five hundred attack points. All of it aimed at her and with nothing at all between her and them. Raising her life points had been a wise decision.

"Attack her directly!" Gaap ordered. Daemon Commander roared a roar that shook everyone there down to their bones before pointing towards her. Two blue gems were set into its body and those glowed bright as fire before unleashing a blast at Tesni. She screamed as she fell back, panting and in pain, now flat on her back.

All she wanted to do now was breathe. She stared up at the morning sky, shivering, fingers scrabbling at the ground underneath her. Not a single muscle in her body wanted to move for what had to be a full minute or better, and when she started to push herself to her feet, she really didn't want to.

 _If I don't get up, I'll lose. I'll die. My army will belong to Ruin. I can't let that happen._

When she looked at Gaap, she had to blink and rub her eyes, since for the first seconds, she thought she saw two of them. It took a few moments for her to clear her sight and she drew a breath to steady herself.

"Because of Backup Squad, I draw two cards," she said, doing so and staring at them. _I think..._

Gaap smirked, even as she settled the cards in her hand. "I'm not done yet. Lancer Daemon, attack her directly too!"

Tesni didn't have time to brace herself before Lancer Daemon leaped over and drove both of his lances deep into her. Down she fell again, screaming, her heart pounding and covered in sweat – and she wouldn't have been surprised to see streaks of blood. When she managed to crack her eyes open again, none was there – but every inch of her ached and throbbed as if she'd been battered by actual lances.

'That's another card I can draw," she muttered, almost dropping the card as she did so. Now she had four cards, and she could see the shape of the duel – as long as he didn't pull another Hand Obliteration.

If he were going to, he didn't do it this time. "Turn end. In the End Phase, Daemon Commander is destroyed because of Daemon's Advent's effect."

That was what Tesni wanted to hear. Still shaking, she drew her card and tried to put together anything that would resemble a strategy.

"You just have a hundred life points. I'm so far above you I can't even count it," Gaap pointed out. "It really would be less painful if you just surrendered."

"Maybe. But I don't do things the easy way."

He was right about one thing: defeating him would take something just short of a miracle. Tesni didn't know if she believed in miracles. But she believed in her deck.

And her deck did have something available to her.

"I activate Resurrection of the Dead! I target one monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it to the field!" Tesni smiled as a gloriously beautiful angel appeared, six wings spread wide and wrapped in a golden gown.

Shine Angel waved at her briefly, a very satisfied smile on his lips. Honest seemed somewhat amused by the appearance as well. Tesni wished she had time to discuss it with them. Business first.

"Wingweaver's attack outmatches Lancer Daemon's," Tesni said, struggling to get her breath and speak. "You're going to take damage, Gaap."

"Go ahead then. You'll need all the help that you can get." Gaap waved one hand. Tesni pulled in her breath, wishing for a moment this were an actual fight and not a duel with cards. She would happily have driven her weapons through him.

"Wingweaver, attack Lancer Daemon1" Tesni commanded. Wingweaver leaped up into the air and shot forward, light emitting from her wings as she did. "Holy Fire!"

Energy lashed forward, striking Lancer Daemon head on, throwing him backward. Lancer Daemon twitched for a few moments, then vanished. Gaap's life points trickled down, not all that much, since they remained close to three thousand. But it was a strike.

 _If he doesn't summon anything next turn and I can increase her attack, then I can win._

Of course. If he didn't do anything to defend himself or to somehow attack her – and she would go down so much quicker than he would – then she might have a chance.

"I set a card and end my turn," Tesni said at last. The three cards she had left required a little more to be used to their full potential. She would have to wait.

Gaap added his card for the turn to his hand and smiled. Tesni hated the look of that smile but could do nothing about it.

"I play Pot of Greed." He added the requisite two cards to his hand. "And now the play that will end you!"

"We'll see about that," Tesni muttered. Gaap kept on going.

"First, I summon Ritual Offering!" A small raven-ish creature appeared on the field, eyeing all that it could. "Ritual Offering's effect is that when I use it for a Ritual Summons, then it can be the entire tribute for it, no matter what."

Another card appeared. "This is Contract with Hell! Combining this with Ritual Offering, I Ritual Summon Daemon's Advent!"

Energy spun into existence between the two of them and from the heart of the spiral one of the tallest and strongest demons that Tesni had ever seen before rose up, roaring with such strength that some of the leaves on the trees fell. Tesni's army flinched, a few taking steps back, but Tesni herself refused to move.

"Wingweaver is still more powerful than he is," she pointed out. "You would only be damaging yourself."

"Oh, I don't think so." Gaap smiled at her, the sort of smile done by those who know they're in control of everything. "I activate Thunder Bolt, destroying one of your monsters! And since you only have one..."

From above there fell a bolt of lightning, piercing Wingweaver. She hung where she was for a few moments, before vanishing altogether. Tesni tensed herself. She knew what would be coming next.

"Now, Daemon's Advent, attack Tesni directly and finish this duel!"

"I don't think so!" Tesni didn't let her opponent believe that was going to happen for so much as a moment. "I activate Attack Nullification!"

The trap card she'd set flipped upwards, the familiar spiral of the effect circling around Daemon's Advent and halting the monster in his tracks. Tesni's shoulders sagged in relief; Gaap didn't have any other cards in his hand so unless there was a graveyard activating effect to deprive her of her last hundred points, she'd survived for now.

"I end my turn." Gaap declared, grumbling a few words in addition that Tesni couldn't quite hear. Tesni found herself quite glad that she couldn't hear them as well.

"So you have one more turn left in you," Ruin spoke. She raised one flawless eyebrow as she stared at Tesni. "Do you really think that you're going to win this duel in one turn?"

Tesni shrugged. "How should I know? But I'm not going to win if I don't keep trying. If you want what belongs to me, then you're going to have to kill me to take it."

"Believe me, that's exactly what we're going to do." Ruin smiled. "Of course, I can do so much worse than kill you. I think doing that could be far more interesting." Her gaze flicked over to Cyber Hell Paladin and then back to Tesni. "But do what you will. You'll find yourself at our mercy no matter what."

"I'd feel better about that if you actually had any," Tesni snapped even as she reached for what she knew would be her last draw of the duel.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Am I really two chapters from finishing this? Wow.


	29. Chapter 29

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Twenty-nine|| **Words:** 59,700  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang **Notes:** Finally, the end of the duel.

* * *

From where they stood, Ryou couldn't get a look at what cards Tesni drew. From the way her eyes widened and the grin that broke across her features, however, he suspected it was a far better draw than she'd expected. He glanced to where Ruin stood only paces away from her champion, still looking as calm and refined as she had before.

She had no idea. But despite the fact Tesni only possessed a hundred life points at the moment, she held the advantage in cards, and Ryou didn't doubt for a heartbeat that she would win.

All that remained to be seen was how. Once the dust settled from that, Ryou looked forward to a very long conversation with Yuusuke about dueling to find out things about _him_. Preferably before Yuusuke didn't any actual dueling.

"I activate Treasure Cards of Fate! One dice roll determines how many cards I draw and that same number from the top of my deck will be removed from play."

Gaap tilted his head back to stare at her. "Do you really think that there's anything that you can do to win this? One strike is all it will take to finish you and you can't summon anything strong enough to stand up to Daemon's Advent."

"Don't make assumptions!" Tesni declared as six tiny clouds, each of them marked with a number, appeared before her. A tiny flame glittered at the first one. "Now, let's see!" The flame whirled and spun, bouncing from one of the clouds to the other. On both sides, everyone watched, tense and worried. Despite Tesni's brave words, gaining just one card wouldn't necessarily win the duel for her.

Even gaining six might not. It would all depend on what those cards were.

"There!" The flame came to a stop, resting on the cloud with a six inscribed on it. Tesni drew six cards from her deck, the next six removed at once. Nine cards were in her hand now. She glanced down, eyes brightening even more. "Time to finish this."

Gaap didn't seem even remotely impressed. "You are aware that my Daemon's Advent cannot be destroyed in battle, unless it battles a Ritual Monster. And no monster you wield against it can use its effect on mine, unless it's a Ritual Monster. And what Ritual do you have that could defeat him _and_ take out all of my Life Points?"

"This one." Tesni separated four cards from the others in her hand. "With the effect of Sprite's Blessing, and using Hail Cyber and Shine Angel as the offerings, I Ritual Summon _Cyber Angel Izana_!"

The moment that Tesni uttered the name of her monster, Ryou stiffened, memories flashing back in the corners of his mind. He didn't remember that monster; perhaps he'd never seen it. But he'd heard people – one person – summoning Cyber Angels before. A strong duelist, a powerful and skilled fighter, with a will of tempered steel and a dedication towards walking her own path no matter what…

 _Asuka…_

There were moments when he hated having amnesia. These were those moments, when a returned memory struck so deep into him that he couldn't keep his focus on what happened around him. He tried to pull his attention back to what happened on the field before him.

From the center of the field Cyber Angel Izana rose, all silver and blue armor, four powerfully muscled arms, the lower two of which held a blue and gold trident, while one of the top arms wielded a battle axe and the fourth arm glowed with raw mystical power.

Gaap sneered. "Oh, I'm sure she's very impressive. But their attacks are still equal. Twenty-five hundred each. Do tell me what you think you can do."

"Don't ask if you don't want to know." Tesni chose another card from her hand. "I equip Izana with the Sword of Dagla!" She glanced towards Ruin. "Which I'm sure that you remember."

"That I do." Ruin all but hissed the words, hatred bubbling up in her eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Winning the duel, if you hadn't guessed. The Sword of Dagla increases Izana's attack strength by five hundred points: and whenever I inflict battle damage to my opponent with the monster using the Sword, then I gain life points equal to the amount of damage."

Gaap looked as if he were about to say something else when Tesni interrupted. "Battle! Let's put an end to this, Izana!"

At her command, Cyber Angel Izana leaped forward, first striking with the battle axe, then the Sword of Dagla., knocking Daemon's Advent back and sending it up in a shower of sparks. Five hundred points of damage dropped from Gaap's total and rose up on Tesni's.

"Not that easy!" Gaap declared. "When Daemon's Advent is destroyed by battle, he calls a friend to stand in his place! Come out, Summoned Daemon!"

Before them all, with a bloodcurdling roar that shook the ground quite nearly as much as Daemon's Advent had, a demon appeared, bones and muscle and clawed hands that reached out for Izana without touching. Tesni didn't flinch at all.

"When Izana destroys a monster by battle, then she can attack another one. And that will be another five hundred points of damage to you."

Again Izana struck, this time with the trident held in her lower arms, and Summoned Daemon fell back, shrieking as if this defeat were far too much to bear. Another five hundred points fell, another rose up. Gaap, pushed back a few paces, now started forward, eyes blazing in rage. Tesni didn't so much as blink.

"You still won't win this duel. I have no more monsters, but you have no more attacks. You still only have eleven hundred life points and I have eighteen hundred and fifty. And I have the exact card I need in my deck to finish this all in my favor."

One of Tesni's eyebrows quirked. "And what card might that be?"

"Premature Burial – I can Special Summon a monster from my graveyard at the mere cost of eight hundred life points. And one of those that's been sleeping there since I discarded my hand will finish you!" Gaap grinned widely, eyes sparking with an evil glee that Ryou hadn't seen in many folk. "Deep in my graveyard there sleeps Red-Eyes Lightning Lord – Evil Daemon. Do you know his effect?" His smile became even worse. "Once a turn, I can destroy all of your monsters that have a defense lower than his attack. And his attack is twenty-five hundred." He laughed, so very low and twisted. "Which means your precious Cyber Angel Izana will be done for, and so will you!"

Tesni snorted at that. "Sure. Then I suppose it's in my best interests to make certain that you don't actually play that."

"This should be good," Gaap taunted. "How are you going to do that?"

"By defeating you before you get another turn. I activate Angel's Sacrifice! At the cost of a thousand life points – which I only have because of my previous attacks – a targeted Fairy-Type creature on my field can attack one more time!"

Izana drew herself up to her full height as a glittering winged angel appeared over her, hands outspread, and gestured towards the battlefield as if granting permission. Izana leaped forward, all weapons ready and aimed, and struck Gaap harshly across the face with each one of them in a rapid series of blows. He screamed, falling to his knees, as the last of his life points drained away.

He stayed where he was for a few moments, fingers crushing the dirt beneath him, drawing in ragged breaths. He slowly turned to stare at Ruin, who stared back at him.

"My queen..." He began to reach for her, even as he began to glow ever so faintly. "I failed you..."

"Fear not, my devoted champion. There will be vengeance. Sleep now." Ruin's smile might almost have been described as gentle if Ryou didn't know better. Gaap tilted his head back and vanished into a stream of light that faded away a few heartbeats later.

Ruin turned to face them. "That was quite intense, wasn't it? So you've won, Tesni." Her gaze hardened. "Which means I _should_ turn over everything that I claim as mine to you. It was our agreement, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but I don't expect you to keep that. You've never kept a promise in your life, especially not to me." Tesni folded up her duel disc. "I'll settle for all of you leaving and never coming back."

Ruin waved one hand. "That would be impossible, even if I wanted. I promised that shadow mage a duel as well – not with me,, of course. He'll battle someone of my choosing, in three days' time." A single step toward Tesni. "Can you guess who that someone might be?"

Tesni stared at her, sweat trickling down all over and eyes wide. Ryou didn't like a word of this. He took a step forward, a deep sense of _protection_ stirring within. Ruin moved even faster, though.

"You're right. I don't keep promises. Except the ones that I choose to keep. And I promise you all this: you'll wake up unharmed and in your own lands. But when you see Tesni again, she'll be at my side. Never expect to see her anywhere else, ever again."

One hand raised, quick as a thought, and fingers snapped. Ryou started to reach himself, but a wave of magic that he couldn't counter swept over them all. He had time enough only to see Yuusuke and Honest and Shine Angel collapsing, eyes as closing as a wave of sleep crashed in. A heartbeat later, he could keep his own eyes open no longer.

When he finally did drag them open again, for a few seconds he thought time had somehow rolled back, because Juudai sat next to him, just as he had all those years before when he'd first woken up. The difference was that they were in his room at the Hail Cyber fortress, he could see Yuusuke when he turned his head, and Juudai looked a lot more serious than he'd ever seen him before.

"What happened?" Ryou asked, shifting himself up. Everything seemed more or less all right. But with Ruin's final words still echoing in his head, he couldn't believe that it was.

"You're awake. Good. First things first – until further notice, you're going to lead the Hail Cybers. None of their other high-rankers trust each other to do it right against Ruin and you're the one who can protect them the most." Juudai sounded as if he were on the verge of rage. "Second, you're going to need to train yourself in dueling all over again. New deck, new strategy, new everything. And do some battle training, too. Ruin won't just confine herself to dueling against you of all people. And that goes double for whoever she knows who wants to kill you."

Ryou rubbed the back of his head. Everything seemed so strange, as if he were somehow one step removed from reality and everything that he knew.

"Last of all: I didn't want to do this, but it might help. You have friends from your old life. A lot of them are amazing duelists and every last one of them would come help you if you want. Is that what you want?"

Ryou blinked for a few times, trying to work through that. He glanced at Yuusuke, who still hadn't opened his eyes. _He's my friend. He came here looking for me._

Making the decision wasn't as hard as he might have thought it was. "I want to see them. I want to get to know them again." He wanted to remember them. Just like seeing Cyber Angel Izana sparked memories of Tenjoin Asuka and seeing Yuusuke brought back memories of Obelisk Blue and so much else, meeting these people would bring back others. "I want them to decide what it is that they want to do."

Three days. Three days until Yuusuke would duel to find out who wanted to kill him. Who knew how long until this entire mess was sorted out. And he had a small army he had to figure out how to lead.

Ryou wasn't sure if he'd never been happier in his life or if he wanted to take a third option and never see any of them again.

* * *

 **Notes:** Two points: the monster that Gaap referred to wouldn't have won him the duel. Izana's DEF is higher than Evil Daemon's attack, so the effect wouldn't work. He was basically trying to throw Tesni off her guard. Not that it worked.

Second point: Angel's Sacrifice is a card that I invented. I needed a third attack and nothing I could find really felt right for one reason or another. The fact Sword of Dagla increases your life points just made it better.

Final note: One chapter until the end!


	30. Chapter 30

**Series:** Paladin's Quest|| **Title:** Rebirth of Kaiser  
 **Characters:** Ryou, Yuusuke|| **Ship:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Thirty|| **Words:** 61,940  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge: YGO GX: canon: K5, 20+ chapters; Slots: 2,000-67,000, 1st person past tense, rated T, reincarnation, gen-fic; One Character Boot Camp, Marufuji Ryou, #44, fade; Epic Big Bang  
 **Notes:** And here we are at the end!

* * *

"So where is Tesni now?" Chaos Hunter asked, lounging backwards in her chair and fiddling with the card between her fingers. A satisfied smirk settled on her lips any time that she looked at it.

"Currently taking instruction in how to be a good servant to me," Ruin replied. "It will take some time for her to be what I require of her, though. But it won't delay our plans."

Law Guardian tilted his head to the side. "We need to complete those plans as soon as possible. They know about you – they'll know about us."

"Oh, you're quite right on that." Ruin agreed. "But they won't be able to do anything about it until I allow it. Knowing won't accomplish anything if we don't strike until they're not expecting it."

Her gaze swept around the room, touching on Chaos Hunter, Law Guardian, and Skull Bishop. "I expect you all to listen to my orders. We _will_ achieve our vengeance if you do."

Golden Pegasus's hooves struck hard against the ground and the group turned towards him. "I know that Law Guardian seeks the life of Yuuki Juudai. I wish him to return to his true station."

"We know," Ruin replied, a hint of weariness in her voice at that. "The two of you will work together on this. We know how his deck works – find ways around that. But work carefully. There have been many who sought to deny him Fusion and its ilk. They all fell against him."

Skull Bishop shifted for a moment, until all eyes rested on him. "I've heard that one of his old friends resides with the Amazons. We could use him for information."

Sparks of interest flickered to life in Ruin's expression. "Then I want him here. The sooner the better."

She turned back toward Chaos Hunter. "And I believe that you have an acquaintance who might be useful towards our cause. Demon Tamer."

Chaos Hunter tensed at once, the corners of her mouth turning downward. "What do you want with her?"

"I think she would be a fine ally. Bring her here as soon as you can. We can speak to her, if nothing else."

Ruin picked up the silver goblet in front of her and examined the rich wine carefully before she took a sip. "In fact, I want to _talk_ to everyone in this world who ever encountered any of them or their friends – everyone who has the slightest bit of information about them whatsoever."

"Shouldn't you also be deciding who fights the shadow mage?" Chaos Hunter suggested, lip curled for a breath at that. "Or did you want me to take care of him?"

"No. We're going to fight fairly – for now." Ruin's smile did not falter in the slightest. "But you're right on that point." She took another sip, thinking. "Did you have anyone in mind? They are fighting on your behalf – somewhat."

Chaos Hunter said nothing at all for several minutes, her eyes dark and serious, before a sudden smile broke across her features. "Oh, I think I know exactly who it will be. I'll have to talk to him about it, of course."

"Of course." Ruin traced a design on the table before her. "I think that we all know what we need to do for now. While you're at it – send me your servants. The small spies. The ones you inherited from the Death Duelists. I have plans for them, too."

* * *

"Did you get it back, at least?" Johan glanced at Shine Angel. The angel turned his hand over, closing his fingers and then opening them up again to reveal his card there.

"I could do that much. But retrieving Tesni was beyond my power, my lord." Shine Angel's head bent for a breath. "I can't even be certain of where Ruin took her. Her defenses are too strong."

Johan let out a long breath at that. "Not surprised. She probably knows ways to keep me _and_ Juudai out." He leaned back against the moss-covered rock and ran his fingers through his hair. "At least we tried. And she's still alive, we know that much."

"For how long?"

That got another sigh, deeper and longer than the rest. "Probably longer than she wants to be if she stays with Ruin. But that still gives us time to figure out how to find her and get her back. And to figure out what else Ruin is up to."

Johan sent a quick look towards Shine Angel. "Are you going to stay here or go back to the village? Or the Sanctuary?"

"Here for now. This is where my brother is and we haven't finished everything yet." Shine Angel's gaze tilted up towards the sky. "I do plan to return to the Sanctuary soon, though. I have a few people I need to speak to there. And elsewhere."

A brief nod from Johan. "Juudai's going to get some of our friends – the ones that Ryou should meet again soon. He's getting more and more of his memories back and that'll help in the long run."

"If we have a long run. Is this shadow mage a good enough duelist to win against whoever Ruin sets against him?"

"I've only dueled against him once myself and he was really different then." Johan's gaze flicked out over the green grass meadow spreading out in front of them. "I really couldn't say but I think he is. I've heard that he's at least as good as the Kaiser is. Or was."

Shine Angel nodded. "And Cyber Hell Paladin himself? I know the spirit that he's become, not the human he was or the person that he will be."

"There weren't that many people better than him. Once he gets it all back, he could probably tear through Ruin's army and never break a sweat." Johan's lips twitched for a few seconds. "I'd almost be tempted to let him. He's going to need to work off steam somehow."

"He's not the only one. Herald-sama is quite unhappy, I've noticed."

Johan nodded, eyes raising up briefly. "He wanted this to end the whole war. We're not going to get involved more than we have to, but we were keeping an eye on the situation. Juudai – he's furious at Ruin. When he finds out who's protecting her from him, he's going to be even _worse_."

Shine Angel's wings twitched and Johan shook his head. "I can hold him back. So can Yubel. No one's in any serious danger. But still, Juudai being unhappy isn't good for anyone."

* * *

Juudai didn't want to be angry. He wanted to have seen the end of a war – even if it was just a little war – and to be celebrating the victory of the people he'd determined were in the right of things. He usually let people work out stuff like this on their own with only minimal support, if just by where he decided to eat and sleep. Sometimes he didn't even give that much, departing an area entirely until the matter settled.

He'd supported the Hail Cybers mostly because he'd decided that they were on the right side. Something drove a wedge between them and the Knights and the Knights didn't seem fully in control of themselves anymore.

 **What do you plan to do about this?**

He could feel Yubel's fingers in his hair, an intimacy that they seldom indulged in unless they were the only ones around. Or Johan. Johan remained an exception to a lot of their habits, for a lot of different reasons.

"I don't know. Haven't decided yet."

Juudai knew that he needed to. He hadn't gone too near the Knights and maybe that was why people like Ruin and everyone she'd recruited got tangled up in the situation. He hated to blame himself but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to think he at least carried some blame for it.

 **You can't watch everyone. You can't even fix everything. You know that.**

That got a very long look from him to Yubel. At least the sort of look that came when Yubel didn't feel like appearing where he could use his eyes. He could feel their awareness turned towards him and that an undercurrent of amusement ran all through Yubel's thoughts. As always, they believed that he took too much on himself.

He knew why, though. He'd gone so long never taking any kind of responsibility whatsoever, letting it all fall the way it wanted and seldom even noticing when things crashed into ruin, so long as he continued to amuse himself. He knew now that couldn't keep on.

"Maybe I can't," he muttered, "but I need to do something."

Yubel didn't seem bothered by that. Yubel wasn't often bothered by him choosing to do things, even if those things didn't involve Yubel. Since he hadn't yet come up with something that Yubel didn't get involved with on some level, he hoped that would never change.

 **What did you have in mind?**

That was where he wasn't sure. He'd already tried to get into Ruin's fortress and take Tesni out again. That hadn't worked at all. He had no idea of what sort of defenses she had, but he came out right where he'd started, and after trying two or three times, he'd decided to try something else.

Exactly what this something else might be was also on the list of 'he had no idea of what it would be' but he guessed he'd figure it out later.

He sighed and jerked himself to his feet. "Let you know when I know. But first I think we need to go pick up a couple of people. At least let them know what's going on before we bring them here."

Juudai took three steps away from the rock he'd lounged on, then turned around and walked into the shadow cast by it. He hoped Principal Samejima wasn't too busy. Was it even the school year?

 _Guess I'll find out._

* * *

Shadows grew over the valley as the sun slid down behind the mountains. Ryou stared out over it. He'd never seen this place as a human, but he remembered now. He remembered three months spent here when it had just been him and Edo and the day and night could almost not be told from one another save for how bright the comet sparkled.

Such a different place now. He'd known that before this became his home; he'd been there for the first sunrise. But living here made it a part of himself, like nowhere ever had been before.

"Does Shou still have the tapestry I had from the Cyber Dojo?" Ryou asked. Yuusuke, standing next to him, nodded.

"He wouldn't have given it up for anything. But I think he'd give it back to you if you asked for it." Yuusuke smiled in thoughtful sadness. "He misses you more than you can imagine. That's probably why he asked Juudai to bring you the deck."

Ryou glanced to where he'd set it on the chipped marble table. The stronghold of the Hail Cybers was a mixture of old and new, battered and burnished, and he found that he liked it like that. There his deck rested; he still needed a duel disc, but the deck was there, and many of the spirits of the monsters curled up around the courtyard. Cyber End admired the sunset with him. Cyberdark lounged in a deep swath of shadows. Cyber Phoenix perched on one of the trees in the courtyard, preening their claws.

Other spirits scattered here and there. The courtyard always seemed big enough for them, no matter what. He hadn't met them all yet but he knew that he would in time. The newest powerful monster in his deck still hadn't emerged, though he could feel the presence in there, watching and waiting.

And amused. He could never forget amused.

Comfortable silence grew between the two of them as the sun fell out of sight and the stars shimmered one by one into place above. The moon would rise late tonight, so for now, starlight was all that they had.

"You're putting your life on the line for me," Ryou said. They'd both been so quiet for so long that hearing the words sent a small shiver all through him. Yuusuke turned towards him.

"Why wouldn't I?" Three simple words, with far more meaning behind them than Ryou thought he'd heard in either of his lives. His heart warmed in a fashion that he didn't think he'd ever had towards anyone else. He still didn't have all of his memories, but perhaps that didn't matter so very much.

"Are you sure that you can succeed?"

"No."

At that word, Ryou opened his mouth to protest, but Yuusuke shook his head. "I don't know who I'll duel or what tricks they'll use. I think we've learned that Ruin can't be trusted. But whatever they do, I'll fight for you."

Ryou could not find it in his heart to protest. Juudai's words came back to him; he would need his friends and he would need to develop his strength in dueling all over again. Those memories wouldn't do enough. He needed to be himself again, and to learn just who being himself _meant_.

Now that he'd had time to think about it, he looked forward to everything that lay ahead in their future.

* * *

 **The End**

 **Notes:** At least it's the end until I do another story in this world. I don't know when that will be though. Sorry this is later than I wanted: my roommate and I finished KH3 the other day and I was busy decompressing from that. But here is the chapter at last! Hope that you've enjoyed this as much as I have. I have Such Ideas for the rest of it!


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